


To Serve And Protect

by Traw



Category: The Streets of San Francisco
Genre: Angst, Crime, Friendship, Gen, Hurt/Comfort
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-20
Updated: 2017-05-20
Packaged: 2018-11-02 18:59:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 11
Words: 26,322
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10950744
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Traw/pseuds/Traw
Summary: Professional jealousy leaves Steve's life hanging in the balance.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This story is set within the first few months after Mike made Steve his partner, about two years before the show started.

**_November 1972_ **

The sight of the young driver in the passing LTD bought a sneer to the San Francisco patrolman's face and his hands tightened in rage around the steering wheel as he mumbled curses under his breath. He didn't know just what Stone saw in that young upstart but one thing he knew - Keller had waltzed in and charmed Stone and taken his promotion.

Only twenty-six, Keller was too young and too inexperienced to be a Homicide inspector. God, the young brat should have been still walking the beat but instead he had risen through the ranks at an incredible pace after joining SFPD only a few short years before. Keller was nothing more than just a wet nosed college boy- far too big for his boots! The patrol officer shook his head in disgust, how Keller had managed to work his way into the good graces of a man like Mike Stone was beyond his understanding.

He growled again. It had taken him thirty years of hardnosed police work, and where was he? Not in the comfort of the Homicide bullpen. No, instead he was still driving a patrol car, chasing doped up kids in stolen cars. The reason why? All because a young college upstart, just like Keller, had cried like a baby when he got a little rough with the arrest.

He shook his head in disgust again as his thoughts returned to the young Homicide inspector. Keller had a lot to learn about real police work. If Stone wouldn't teach him, then maybe he should.

He glanced into his rear-view mirror. The unmarked police car, the one he should rightfully have been driving, was now out of sight.

Turning his attention back to the traffic, he made a silent pledge to himself - If the kid ever needed help then he could ask someone else. Keller didn't deserve his help or his respect - no matter what the captain had said!

SOSF SOSF SOSF

Noticing the SFPD patrol car and its driver, Steve could almost feel the heat of the other man's glare as they passed. He wasn't sure what the officer's problem was but whatever reason for the hostility the other man held against him it was starting to interfere with their work.

Steve sighed and shook his head, uncertain of how to handle the situation. Only Mike's partner for a couple of weeks, he had found settling in a difficult process of settling into the Homicide team. Uncertain of why Mike had chosen him over several more experienced and qualified officers, Steve felt a little out of his depth. Mike had made him feel welcome but he still wondered why Mike had wanted him as a partner.

The trouble he had been having with Bradley was escalating. The SFPD officer seemed to delight in causing him problems whenever they crossed paths, from insubordinate and derogatory remarks about his age, to disobeying a direct order a few days ago. Steve bit his lip as he turned onto Eddy Street. It had taken a lot of quick talking and cajoling to convince Norm Haseejian not to bring the officer up on disciplinary charges. The SFPD sergeant had not been happy that Steve had wanted to let the matter drop, and had insisted on talking to the patrolman himself if Steve would not bring him in front of the disciplinary board.

His musing was interrupted as the sudden crack of a rifle shot reverberated through the air and his side window exploded, showering him in glass. Hitting the brakes, Steve brought the car to a violent stop in the middle of the road as he pulled his gun free from it holster and scanned the area for signs of the gunman. A second shot shattered the windscreen and he flung himself down onto the seat as he grabbed the mic. He quickly depressed the button and yelled, "Headquarters, this is Inspector 8-1. Shots fired. Request immediate assistance- corner of Polk and Eddy Streets." He ducked lower as he waited for a response as more bullets slammed into the door of the car.

He heard the headquarters repeat his assistance request and waited tensely for help arrived. His heart began to beat faster as he heard the urgent request repeated again after only one unit responded with an eta of 10 minutes. Steve's heart beat faster as he tried to flatten himself even more against the seat as another round of bullets slammed into the side of his car. Where was everybody?

He frowned in confusion. He had passed Bradley's unit only a few moments ago- why wasn't he responding? He was sure he had not heard a radio call that might have had the officer caught up in some other case. Why wasn't he responding?

More shots rained down on the car, this time from a different angle and Steve had to curl against the door in an effort not to be shot. The sniper was moving- had him pinned down in no man's land. The calls of other units responding from directly from the station brought little comfort. They were too far away to help.

The sniper's bullets were too close for comfort, and in desperation Steve grabbed the mic again as he demanded, "Bradley, where the hell are you?"

There was no response from the person who should have been his closest assisting unit.

He heard Headquarters advise him that units were responding but the closest unit was still four minutes away. There had been no more shots, and Steve knew the sniper was moving again. Depressing the mic button again, he drew a deep breath to steady his voice before he warned, "The sniper's on the move, I don't know where he is. Advise responding units to approach with extreme caution."

Steve swallowed hard aware he had no longer had a choice, if he remained in the car any longer he would become a sitting duck. Dropping the mic, he drew another deep shuddering breath in an attempt to steady his nerves before he pushed the door open and rolled out of the car. Landing crouched beside the car; he quickly scanned the roofs of the buildings surrounding him, hoping to see some movement, a glint, anything, that would tell him where the sniper was.

Seeing no sign of his attacker, the young inspector glanced across to the nearest doorway and safety. In the distance, he could hear approaching sirens but the sudden crack of a rifle and too many shards of metal from the car door close to his head warned him of the danger he was still in. It was now or never! He could not remain where he was. Crouching low, Steve launched himself from behind the small protection of the car door and sprinted toward the doorway that suddenly seemed so far away.

He heard the sound of gunfire ringing out behind him and felt the burn of shrapnel as it bit into his legs as the sniper tracked his desperate flight to safety. Reaching the open doorway, he fell inside, crawling behind the solid protection of the inside wall. Catching his breath, he forced himself up onto his feet and with a quick glance at the frightened faces watching him from behind overturned tables, he turned back towards the door. Ignoring the tremors that shook his body, he cautiously peered outside with his gun ready, searching for the gunman as the first squad car skidded to a halt about fifty yards away.

He couldn't let the officers walk into the kill zone. Jumping from the safety of the doorway he waved them off shouting, "Get back!" Steve suddenly jerked as a bullet slammed into his chest. He was thrown backwards by the impact, his body hitting the cold tiled floor with a crash. He felt a deep burning sensation deep in his chest and heard the terrified screams of a woman nearby intermingled with the sirens outside.

The SFPD officer slammed the car into reverse and spun the tires as the unit lurched backwards. Getting on the radio, he advised the other responding units to use caution in their approach, and avoid the intersection of Polk and Eddy streets.

Unable to breathe, Steve relaxed into the silent darkness that beckoned him, no longer aware of the sirens or shots that echoed outside before the excited yell of "I've got him!" echoed in the street.

Gun drawn and aimed, Norm Haseejian cautiously approached the sniper who now lay sprawled on the hot pavement, a dark puddle of blood slowly spreading out from beneath the man's body, his rifle still clutched loosely in his hand. The glazed, open eyes and the still chest told the officer that the man was no longer a threat but keeping his gun trained on the motionless suspect, Norm kicked the rifle out of the sniper's reach before he knelt down and pressed his fingers to the man's throat. "Dead!" He mumbled as he looked up at his partner who stood backing him up a few feet behind as he rose and looked towards the doorway where he could see the body of the Homicide inspector lying on the floor of the small cafe.

The amount of blood that stained the front of the fallen inspector's shirt and was pooling around Steve's motionless body galvanized the officer, who had reached the young Homicide inspector first, into immediate action. Pressing down on the wound in an attempt to slow the bleeding, he shouted to Norm, "I need help over here. Fast!"

Instantly Norm and his partner were at Steve's side, helping the other SFPD officer carry him toward the nearest radio car. Sliding the limp body onto the back seat, Norm jumped in next to him as the first officer slammed the car into drive and grabbed the mic, "Headquarters…This is Unit 12...advise I'm rolling Code 3 to the hospital from Polk and Eddy Streets with an injured officer. I need units to block the intersections between this location and the General Hospital. Also request coroner to scene. Suspect is dead."

As the car accelerated away, Norm could hear the reassuring sounds of other units as they arrived at the intersections, knowing that their mad dash for the hospital would not be impeded.


	2. Chapter 2

The background chatter from the police radio sitting on Lee's desk the table caught the young Homicide inspector's attention as he heard Steve's voice alert Headquarters to shots fired and request for immediate assistance. Quickly turning up the volume of the small radio, lee turned towards his lieutenant's office as he called. "Mike!"

Hearing the desperate radio call from their own desks, several of the other inspectors crowded around the radio as Mike ran out of his office and joined them.

"Steve's under fire. He's requesting back up - but so far no one has responded!" Lee told Mike as the older man reached his desk.

The atmosphere was thick with tension as the small group of Homicide officers huddled around the small radio, waiting for someone to answer. For a few terrible seconds the silence was deafening before the broadcast came out that numerous units were responding from the station.

"Where is he?" Mike snapped as he turned and ran towards the bullpen door as several of his inspectors followed him.

"Corner of Polk and Eddy." Lee answered, close to Mike's heels.

"Tell headquarters we are on our way!" Mike ordered over his shoulder to the young uniformed officer who was left standing alone in the bullpen.

SOSF SOSF SOSF

The closer Mike got to his destination, the more snarled the traffic became, the intense police activity bringing vehicular movement in all directions to a virtual standstill. Growling under his breath, he grabbed the mic and demanded an update only to be told that no units had yet reached the scene and that Inspector Keller was no longer responding to radio calls. Mike's grip tightened into a stranglehold on the steering wheel, his frustration nearly getting the better of him as he tried to force his way through the unmoving traffic. "Where the Hell is everyone?"

It seemed like a lifetime before a unit finally advised he was 10-97 at the location. Mike could hear his heart pounding as he held his breath, waiting for someone to advise conditions. Finally, he heard the call that he was waiting for, a unit had arrived and confirmed that Steve was safe for the moment. The sniper was on the rooftop and for all responding units to use caution.

Several more units began to advise that they had also reached the danger zone and Mike relaxed a little with the knowledge that his young partner was no longer alone. Calming his panic a little, he waited to hear what areas were being cordoned off and who was going to coordinate the search for the suspect but his momentary minute of relief was shattered as he heard the desperate call of Unit 12, advising Headquarters that they were transporting a critically wounded officer to the hospital and that the sniper was deceased. Mike's mouth went dry and his hands turned to ice. A unit transporting an injured officer only happened when the situation was too critical to wait for an ambulance.

Snatching up the mic, Mike demanded more information as he silently prayed that the officer wounded was not his own inspector. His demand for answers was fulfilled when Unit 12 responded informing him the wounded officer they were transporting was Inspector Keller. He swallowed hard and managed to grunt out an acknowledgement before requesting a patch to Bill ordering him to continue to the scene as he and Lee diverted to the hospital.

He listened as one unit after another advised which intersection they were blocking to allow the critically injured officer the fastest transport possible to the hospital. Every time the unit transporting Steve passed a blocked intersection the officer at that location advised they had come through, so Mike knew exactly where they were and exactly when they arrived at General.

Seeing a break in the traffic, Mike swerved the large sedan into the opposite lane of traffic and raced towards SF General Hospital only a few blocks away, managing to arrive at the ER just as the transporting unit arrived. Squealing the big car to the curb, Mike and Lee raced to the SFPD unit Steve's limp, blood soaked body was swiftly placed on a gurney.

They only had a second to glance at the white face and the bloodied chest before Steve was whisked inside surrounded by medical staff who shouted orders as they moved through the sliding doors and the two officers who had made the desperate dash with their wounded colleague.

Following quickly behind, Mike was blocked from following the gurney that was carrying Steve into the emergency examination room by a nurse who softly apologized, "I'm sorry but you can't come in here. If you would like to wait in the waiting room, someone will be out as soon as they can to give you an update." Mike nodded woodenly and stepped back into the corridor as the door swung shut.

SOSF SOSF SOSF

Entering the small waiting room, Bill could sense the fear and tension radiating from the two men who waited anxiously for word on Steve's condition inside the room. He already knew from officers from the scene that Keller had been hit in the chest and that their opinions were the young inspector was extremely lucky to have survived the trip to the hospital. The look on his two colleagues' faces told him that Steve's condition had not been exaggerated.

His heart fell as Mike turned around, the naked fear and worry only too readable on Mike's face as he asked hesitantly, "How's Steve?"

"They've taken him up to the operating room. His condition is critical. The doctor says the bullet has collapsed his lung and nicked a vein. They are trying to get the hemorrhaging under control- it's touch and go at the moment."

They stood in silence for several minutes before Bill suggested they sit down and he would get some coffee. Mike nodded absently as he lowered himself into one of the uncomfortable chairs in the all too familiar waiting room and stared at the coffee that Bill gave him but made no move to drink it. All he could hear was the sound of Steve's voice as he asked where everyone was, and in his mind's eye he could see the fear on Steve's face as he faced the sniper alone.

Clearing his throat, Bill glanced worriedly at Lee before he returned his attention back to Mike. "Umm, the scene is all cleared up, Mike." he began softly as he reached into his pocket and withdrew his notebook, opening it to the correct page before he continued with his report. "The sniper has been identified as Michael Homes, age twenty-eight, single, unemployed, lived with his parents. Norm has already notified them of his death. They told Norm that Michael was discharged from General's Psychiatric Unit two days ago where he was treated for Paranoid Schizophrenia and drug abuse. The mother claims he was only out of hospital for two hours before he took another hit of Heroin."

Mike tried to listen to Bill's report, but most of what the inspector said went right past him. The suspect, who never should have been on the streets in the first place, was dead. The only thing on his mind was his young officer and at the moment nothing else mattered. He nodded in response but his attention was diverted as the waiting room door opened and the doctor slowly entered the room, his surgical cap still on his head and the surgical mask he had worn during the emergency operation still hanging around his neck. Not even waiting for the exhausted physician to walk to where they were seated, Mike demanded, "How is he?"

"He's weak but he has an excellent chance of recovery barring no complications." An audible release of three held breaths greeted the optimistic report with relief as the surgeon continued. "He's a very lucky young man, a fraction of an inch to the left... "The surgeon shook his head before continuing, "The bullet hit his right lung, just missing his heart and nicking a vein as it tore through his lung – that's what caused the severe hemorrhaging. If it wasn't for the quick actions of the officers on the scene and the way they assessed the situation and transported him in the patrol car without waiting for the ambulance, I doubt he would have survived."

"But he's going to make it?" Mike asked again, wanting - no, needing the reassurance that Steve would recover.

The surgeon nodded and smiled, "With a little rest and some recovery time, he should be fine. They are just transferring him up to the ICU."

The three inspectors exchanged small smiles of relief as Mike spoke for them all. "Thanks Doc. That's the best news we could hear. When can we see him?"

Glancing down at his watch, the surgeon looked back at the three of them and smiled. "Now if you like but you can only stay with him for a few minutes. He's heavily sedated. He needs to rest so he can regain some of his strength, so only five minutes, guys!"

Stone nodded silently, surprising the three other men. He wanted to make sure that Steve was truly on the road to recovery before he started searching for some much-needed answers!

SOSF SOSF SOSF

Entering the small ICU room, the three officers were shocked at the sight of their youngest colleague and friend. The young man looked closer to death than on the road to recovery that the surgeon had reassured them he was on only a few scant minutes ago. A myriad of tubes were connected to the still pale figure lying in the bed, some disappeared beneath the sheets while others emerged from the stark white dressings that covered Steve's chest, a heart monitor beeped quietly on a table beside the bed and two bags of IV fluids hung above the bed, their tubes running to both arms resting on the clean sheets.

Mike hesitated as he approached the pale, still man in the bed while Bill and Lee waited respectfully. The heart monitor beeped quietly as Mike picked up the cool, still hand. "You're going to be okay, Buddy boy, the doc said you're going to be fine. While you rest, we're going to find out why it took your assistance so long to get there." Mike shifted as he cleared his throat. "I know it must have seemed like forever before help arrived, but don't worry, I'm going to find out where everyone was, and any unit that was in the field who did not answer your assistance request is going to have me to answer to." Squeezing the young inspector's hand, Mike leaned closer and solemnly promised, "I will find out why it took so damn long Steve, I promise. Now rest and I will be back as soon as I have some answers!"

Blinking back the tears of rage at what had happened to his partner, Mike hesitated only long enough to inform his other inspectors that he was going to back to the station.

Lee and Bill nodded, each silently relieved that they were not one of the SFPD officers on duty this afternoon as they watched Mike walk determinedly towards the elevator.

SOSF SOSF SOSF

Mike shut the door firmly behind him and settled onto one of the hard-backed wooden chairs as he watched the duty sergeant fiddle with the large reel-to-reel tape recorder that was built into the wall of the office. Reaching behind him, the sergeant grabbed the twelve-inch wide reel and snapped it solidly into place, threading the tape into the adjoining empty reel before flipping the switch. The reel slowly began to turn, and with it, the sound of calls being dispatched.

Sitting on the edge of his desk, the duty sergeant and Mike both leaned slightly forward as they listened intently to the calls. Everything was calm and routine until Steve's tense voice broke in requesting assistance regarding shots fired. Both men stared intently at the slowly turning reel as Headquarter's repeated broadcast of the officer needs assistance request was met with a disturbing silence. One SFPD unit advised he was responding with an eta of ten minutes. Mike clenched his fists as he heard the desperation in Steve's voice asking where Bradley was. Seconds later there were numerous units responding from the station, but in a 'shots fired' situation, a few minutes can feel like a life time.

It seemed like forever before the first unit advised he had arrived at the location, followed by several other units, seconds later. The area was quickly cordoned off and the search for the suspect in progress when the sound of a siren shattered the tense atmosphere in the room causing both men to jump slightly. An SFPD unit advised he was rolling Code 3 to the hospital with an injured officer and requesting assisting units to block the intersections, allowing him to get there as fast as possible. Mike found himself holding his breath until the unit said he was at the hospital, at which point Sergeant Dann reached up and snapped off the switch.

Mike straightened back up in the chair and leveled his gaze at the officer. "I want to know where everybody was and why it took so long for help to arrive."

"Mike, it was shift change. We only had two units in the field…"

"Well then why didn't BOTH units acknowledge? I only heard one. Where was the other one?"

Before the sergeant could answer, Mike slammed his hand on the desk, causing the papers to jump and a loose paperclip to fall to the floor. "I want the log of every officer who was working when Steve requested assistance. I don't care what they were doing. There is nothing that takes precedence over an assistance request."

Mike's eyes burned with anger as he ordered with as much control as he could muster, "I want those log sheets on my desk by the end of the day."

With that he jerked the door open and strode from the room, leaving the sergeant to decide the most expedient way to collect those log sheets and deliver them to the angry Homicide lieutenant's office.


	3. Chapter 3

Grabbing another log sheet from the pile on Bill's desk, Lee glanced at it before he shook his head in horror and disgust, "It took the guys from the station a good eight minutes to reach Steve's location!"

"Yeah, a lifetime, but on the positive side, once the request was announced at the station, everyone rolled, both those officers just coming on duty as well as those just getting off." Bill quietly reminded Lee as he remembered seeing officers at the scene wearing just their Sam Browne and civilian clothes. Reaching for another log sheet he continued, "Homes couldn't have picked a better time to go on a shooting rampage. Only two units on the road… no one he shot at had a chance!"

"So, Mike doesn't think that Homes was gunning specifically for Steve?" Lee asked softly glancing across at mike's office to reassure himself that Mike was out of earshot.

"No, there was nothing in either's background that linked them together and even if there had have been there was no way that Homes could have known or predicted that Steve would be driving down Polk Street at that time." Bill his head, "It looks like Steve was just in the wrong place at the wrong time. Homes wanted to shoot up the town and he didn't care who he shot at!"

"Man!" Lee nodded as he placed the log sheet he held in his hand on the pile for all ready checked and reached for another, glancing at the name at the top – Bradley. Reading the log, Lee frowned and looked up at Bill, his unease easily readable upon his face as he spoke, "Bradley was one of the two units on the road at the time of the shooting." He began hesitantly as he glanced back down at the sheet, ensuring that he had not mistaken what he had just read.

Looking up at his colleague, Bill nodded, "Right…why?"

Lee glanced back up disturbed by what he had just read, "Well he logged in at Bush Street at 1330 hrs for a routine traffic stop and then there's nothing more until 1420hrs where he logs in reaching Polk Street - that's 20 minutes after the shooting! Where he was all that time while Steve was waiting for back up? "

"That's what Mike is going to be asking!" Bill answered angrily as they rose from their chairs and headed to Mike's office.

SOSF SOSF SOSF

"Bradley - where the hell are you?" The desperation in Steve's voice tore at Mike's heart as he paused the tape and rewound it before pressing play allowing the anxious plea to reverberate around the office again. "Bradley - where the hell are you?" Mike hit the rewind button a third time, hitting the play button as he silently listened to his young partner's confused and frightened demand. His knuckles whitened around the pen he was holding as he listened again to those six simple words. "Bradley - where the hell are you?"

It sounded as if Steve believed that the SFPD officer was close by- but why? And if Bradley was then why didn't the SFPD officer respond?

Lee still had Bradley's log sheet in his hand as he and Bill knocked and stepped into Mike's office and stood quietly next to the door, watching the look on Mike's face as he played back the assistance request. The desperation in their young colleague's voice causing them, once again, to hold their breath, and Lee to tighten his grip on the piece of paper he held in his hand.

Mike reached over and snapped off the tape with a loud click before turning to his two inspectors and motioning them to sit down as he asked them. "Why was he asking for Bradley?"

Bill cleared his throat and leaned slightly forward in his chair, "Bradley is one of the two units who were in the field when Steve came under fire. I guess Steve thought he must be nearby."

"I checked his log for the time of the shooting, Mike," Lee interrupted, his anger evident as he continued, "He reported in at Bush Street at 1330 hrs and then nothing until 1420 when he reported in at the scene! Don't know where he was for almost an hour!"

Mike frowned at the report, "He's missing for almost an hour?"

The two men nodded as Mike leaned across and hit the play button again. The three men held their breaths waiting to see if Bradley even acknowledged the request for assistance call but the silence from the SFPD officer was even louder than the silence within the room. Snapping off the tape in disgust as the recording ended, Stone looked up at his two men and demanded, "What do you know about Bradley?"

"He's trouble Mike, not liked by many of the guys." Bill started quietly, "A real cowboy out on the streets."

"And he doesn't like Steve," Lee stated flatly as he looked his boss in the eye. "He doesn't think Steve's experienced enough to be in Homicide and he hasn't made it any secret."

"So, he has a problem with Steve?" Mike asked softly, "Why wasn't I told?"

"Steve wanted to try and handle it on his own," Lee quickly informed the angry man.

"And Norm has had some words with Bradley about his attitude," Bill added, "But it doesn't seem to make any difference and it sure hasn't improved his attitude toward Steve."

Mike looked again at the log sheet lying in front of him. Anger rising in his chest as he stared at the empty time frame where Steve was pinned down waiting for help...and no one came. "So, is there a possibility that Bradley deliberately ignored the call?" He growled. Before either inspector could respond, Mike's fist slammed down on the log as he demanded "I want Bradley in my office NOW and he'd better have a damn good reason for why he didn't back Steve up!"

"I will get him, Mike!" Lee answered as he rose from his chair and hurried out of the room.

Turning back to Bill, Mike growled angrily, "And I want to speak to Norm as well!"

Bill nodded silently as he rose and left the room, closing the door softly behind him.

He needed to hear what Norm had to say. How far would this Bradley go? Not responding to an assistance request was not something most people would ever consider, regardless of how they felt about the person asking for help. Professionalism...if nothing else came before personal grievances, you don't leave someone stranded alone in the face of danger.

Mike sighed as he reached across and rewound the tape again listening to Steve's desperate voice asking Bradley where he was, his anger rising with his disgust that a fellow officer might have intentionally ignored the plea.

Grabbing the empty coffee cup sitting near the tape recorder, he resisted the urge to hurlit at the wall in anger. He knew that there were some officers in SFPD who were not happy to have missed out on the promotion to Homicide but how the Hell did he miss something like this?!

SOSF SOSF SOSF

Lee sighed as he slowly hung up the phone and headed back to Mike's office. He gave a brief knock and waited for the lieutenant to invite him in before he entered. "Bradley's already off shift, Mike, and his wife says that he isn't home. She doesn't know where he is or when he'll be back."

Mike nodded but before he could reply, Bill entered the office with Norm close behind. "Then you make sure he gets the word that I want him here first thing in the morning." Mike ordered before he turned his attention to the two men who had just entered the room. Looking at Norm, he asked the officer without preamble. "Norm, what can you tell me about Bradley?"

"Well, Mike" Norm sat down and crossed his arms. "He's been around for thirty years. He hasn't got the cleanest record, a few force complaints that were investigated. Some were proven and some were unsubstantiated, but none were unfounded, which is kind of unusual. Makes you wonder what really happened."

"A bully out on the streets?" Mike asked, knowing and despising the old attitude of a clip behind the ears was better punishment then charging the offender. Stone looked thoughtfully at Norm, contemplating what he had just said. "Do you think he's a liar? Do you think he has gone back and threatened or intimidated people who have filed complaints against him?"

"It's always possible. If he scared them enough they'd back down on the complaint." Norm answered slowly, "Unfortunately he covers his tracks well. So far, none of the complaints have stuck. They have either been withdrawn before charges could be brought against him or else modified by the complainant to make the original complaint less serious, but so far none of the complainants have said why they have changed their minds."

"Maybe we should go back and talk to them again." Bill suggested. "Make sure they understand that he doesn't know about the investigation and can't hurt them."

Nodding his approval of Bill's suggestion, Mike watched the SFPD sergeant closely as he asked, "How does Bradley get along with Steve?"

Shifting uncomfortably in his seat, Norm glanced across at Lee and Bill, unsure of just how much Mike already knew. Bill nodded his encouragement and the SFPD sergeant turned back to Mike, "He hates Steve, Mike and he makes no bones about it, he's quick to criticize everything Steve does."

Leaning forward, Mike frowned, "Why?"

Norm shook his head, "It's crazy, he seems to believe that Steve robbed him of his promotion to Homicide. He resents the fact that Steve is far more qualified than he was and often complains that Steve is only a kid. That he shouldn't even be an inspector, let alone your partner."

"So, he's jealous?" Mike asked. "Has he ever confronted Steve about it?"

Norm shifted uncomfortably and glanced at Bill before he returned his attention back to Mike as he quietly admitted, "Yeah, he did the other day."

Mike raised an eyebrow and waited silently for Norm to explain.

"It happened when Steve was the first Homicide inspector on the scene of the Lester' murder scene. Bradley was one of the responding officers and Steve asked him to take a statement from a potential witness. Bradley's reaction was rude and totally unprofessional. He told Steve that he was not taking orders from a snotty nosed college boy and if Steve wanted the interview done then he could do it himself."

Lee and Bill both gasped at the insubordination as Mike, his anger rising, asked, "What did Steve do?"

"He was calm. He tried to smooth it over. It wasn't the time or place for a confrontation, but I know Steve didn't call him on it later." Norm admitted quietly. "I spoke to Steve about what happened later, tried to talk him into taking disciplinary action but Steve refused saying that Bradley needed time to adjust to his promotion. That he expected some rough patches with some of the older officers."

"Why wasn't I informed?" Mike asked tersely.

"Steve asked me not to tell you, he wanted to handle it his own way." Norm shifted again, uncomfortable under the scrutiny. "I didn't want to add to the problem by usurping Steve's authority and going to you, but I did talk to Bradley myself and told him his conduct would not be tolerated."

"And how did Bradley react?"

"He was his normal arrogant self, nodded appropriately and said 'Yes Sir' in all the right places but I doubt he even listened to what I said." Norm answered angrily, "He has an attitude problem Mike, that is driving me crazy!"

"And from what I've seen of Bradley," Bill added, "I don't think his attitude has changed. He was rude to Steve the other day when Steve instructed him to collect some evidence. I had the distinct feeling the only reason he carried out the order was because I was there. I spoke to Steve about it afterwards but all he said was he was trying to get the situation under control. He didn't want you involved, he wanted to try and deal with it on his own."

"Steve is young and very new to a position with this much authority. Some people in his position would be too heavy, too full of themselves. Steve is just the opposite. He's an excellent cop but he's also a nice guy." Norm tried to defend the wounded inspector.

Mike nodded, "He's going to need some time to grow into it." Glancing at the men around him he added, "And we'll be here to back him up until he does. Which brings us back to the original issue- Where was Steve's backup? Did Bradley deliberately ignore the call for assistance?"

The three other officers glanced at each other before returning their attention back to the lead inspector as Norm answered the question on their behalf, "I certainly hope not Mike but at the moment I can't honestly say that I believe he didn't. I'm afraid it's possible that he did."

Unsurprised with the honest answer, Mike ordered, "I want Bradley in my office first thing in the morning but now I want the three of you to go home and get some rest. There is nothing more we can do tonight."

Slowly rising to their feet, the three men bid their 'Good nights' and headed towards the door, halting for a moment as Lee turned and asked, "Are you going home as well. Mike?"

"I think I'll head over to the hospital, check on Steve before I head home." Mike admitted softly, "I know the doctor has him heavily sedated…"

Lee nodded silently in understanding before he turned and followed the others out.

SOSF SOSF SOSF

Biting her bottom lip in fear, Tia watched the agitated SFPD officer warily as he paced the small confines of her living room muttering something about that cop Keller again and how the cop who had stolen his 'BIG' promotion had now managed to get himself shot. She frowned in dazed confusion as he ranted how he was going to be held responsible for not backing the spoiled little college boy up when the snotty nosed kid got himself in trouble. Stone was already screaming about the brat being shot and had demanded the logs of every officer on duty at the time. And what if the kid talked – told Stone that he had passed him moments before he was shot? He growled again and kicked the chair, frightening her more with his increasing rage.

Cowering near the door watching Bradley's insane anger grow, she again found herself wishing that she had chosen Jail rather than the 'solution' that he had offered her months before when he had pulled her over for speeding and unlicensed driving. She knew as soon as he had turned on his lights and siren that the only place that she would go that day was directly to jail, several warrants and unpaid fines for drug use and prostitution would ensure her incarceration.

She had initially been extremely grateful when he had offered her salvation- a deal- he would forget the traffic tickets and find a way for the warrants and unpaid fines to mysteriously disappear if she would have sex with him. She shook her head and shivered, wrapping her arms around her emaciated body. What she had initially thought would be a onetime tryst had developed into a full affair not of her choosing, the offer of a free supply of drugs and the threat of unpaid fines and warrants continually dangled over her head like an axe ready to drop, entrapping her to this cop forever. Jail almost looked like a welcome alternative to escape the terror that had become her life – almost- but she feared even worse the dreadful indignities that he promised he could get his fellow officers to inflict on her during her arrest and incarceration at the SFPD holding cells. Part of her whispered that he was all talk, full of bluff about the power he wielded within SFPD, that not all cops were like he was, that in fact the majority of them were decent but a tiny frightened voice screamed in her mind why take the chance- better the devil you know.

She jumped as he suddenly stopped pacing and turned towards her, a small menacing smile tugging at his thin lips as he stepped the two steps to reach her. She tried not to wince as he grabbed the top of her arms and pulled her closer, his fetid breath almost gagging her as he began to speak.

"Stone doesn't know you! He doesn't know about us!" He grinned as he stared at her for a minute, almost as if seeing her for the first time. A look of distaste flickered across his face but was quickly hidden as he continued. "And he's not going to know because as far as he will know we are complete strangers, right?" He growled squeezing her arms even tighter. She moaned in pain and nodded silently, not certain just what he was planning but aware it was better to wait to be told than to ask as he began to outline his plan, "He's going to want to know where I was when that brat got shot so I'm going to tell him that I was with you and when his inspectors come tomorrow and ask you, this is what you're going to say!"


	4. Chapter 4

The sun had not yet warmed the streets when Mike entered the Intensive Care room where his young partner now rested. Last night Steve had been kept heavily sedated after the emergency operation and had not stirred when he sat with him until the early hours of the morning. This morning on his arrival the nursing staff informed him that surgeon had already been in and checked the patient and had lowered the sedation. In fact, the young inspector was already showing signs of awakening.

In the soft diffused sunlight filtering in the room, Mike could see the improvement in the patient immediately, the gray complexion that had lingered after the operation now gone and although extremely pale, Steve no longer looked as if he was on death's doorstep. The young man's breathing although still ragged, no longer sounded as if he had to fight for each breath.

As he stepped closer to the bed, he was pleased and surprised to see the tired green eyes, that yesterday he feared had closed forever, watching his every move. He smiled warmly and placed his hand gently on top of the still too cool arm resting on the top of the sheets. "Hey, Buddy boy." He whispered.

The younger man blinked and licked his dry lips before he breathlessly answered with a voice so weak it was almost impossible to hear. "Mike."

"The doc says you're good for a full recovery. A few weeks rest and you will be as good as new." Mike said softly, wanting to reassure Steve that he would be fine.

The young man nodded and looked away before he looked back at his boss as he whispered, "Why didn't anyone come?"

Mike's heart broke at the whispered words and he hurried to reassure the upset young man, "They did, Steve, I'm sorry it took so long. It was change of shift and there were only two units on the streets. The guys at the station responded as soon as they could …"

"What about Bradley?" Steve asked, "He was… less than a …minute away. Why…didn't he…respond?"

"Bradley was that close?" Mike asked shocked at Steve's words, "Are you sure?"

"I…passed him…just a …few seconds…before," Steve panted, the heart monitoring beeps increasing as he spoke, "I called… for help…but no…body …answered…I waited…for some…one to come…" He whispered as his eyes slid shut and he lost his fight to stay awake.

"Everybody responded, Steve." Mike whispered to the unconscious man "People getting off work, people just starting... as soon as it was announced at the station no one stayed behind. Why Bradley was the only one to ignore your call, the answer to that I just don't know at the moment but I promise you I will find out!" Mike shook his head as he continued, "I didn't know why Bradley if he was less than a minute away." Mike frowned as he stared at his friend, as questions swirled within his head. Why didn't he respond?' Why didn't he? It was a question Steve deserved an honest answer to!

Squeezing the arm under his hand, Mike whispered, "I'm going to find out why he didn't Steve, I promise you and he had better have a damn good reason!" he promised before he turned and left the room, determined today he would find the reason.

SOSF SOSF SOSF

Bradley sat down at the far end of the large wooden table and snickered to himself as the words, "Once upon a time..." crossed his mind. It only took a few minutes to weave a story about being flagged down by a distraught woman and how he had been inside a building and away from his car radio, deciding to add that he had not been aware of an assistance request, but had responded as soon as he found out. Looking over the report and carefully double-checking the time of the observation and the time he left, he got a file number and dropped the report into the sergeant's tray.

The duty sergeant glanced at the report and then noticed the date of occurrence.

"Why didn't you turn this in yesterday?"

Bradley gave a thin smile as he leaned on the sergeant's desk. "With that Homicide guy getting involved in the shooting," he shrugged, "I got busy. But here it is now. No harm, no foul."

The sergeant looked over the report, stamped it, and tossed it in the "file" tray as he warned. "Okay, but don't make a habit of it."

"I won't, Sarge."

'That clinches my alibi,' Bradley thought smugly as he retreated out the door.

He had only taken a few steps towards the Briefing Room for morning report when he heard Norm call his name. Turning impatiently, he waited for the older man to reach him before he answered cordially, "What can I do for you, Sarge?"

"You are to report to Lieutenant Stone immediately." Norm ordered sharply, his stomach churning with disgust and anger that this man may have deliberately ignored Steve's desperate calls for assistance yesterday.

Bradley frowned in annoyance before he glanced down at his watch and then looked back at Norm's stern face, "But Sarge, I have to get to roll call…" He began.

"That wasn't a request that was an order!" Norm growled. "And if I was you I wouldn't leave Mike waiting. I can assure you he isn't in a happy mood! Now get going!"

"Sure, Sarge," feigning a look of confused surprise on his face, "Do you know what he wants to see me for?"

"He's interviewing the units on duty yesterday when Steve Keller was ambushed. And all I can say is you had better have a damn good excuse why you didn't respond!"

Bradley stiffened at the accusation. "I was out on an obs. and didn't hear the radio. Check my report if you don't believe me." Looking hurt that Norm would think that, Bradley dropped his eyes and nodded, "I didn't hear the request Norm, honest. I know Keller and I have had our differences before but you don't really believe that I could ever ignore a fellow officer's call for help no matter who they are?"

The SFPD sergeant eyed the officer standing in front of him, unsure exactly what to think. This man, despite his occasionally questionable ethics, this man had been a cop for a long time. In all his years, Norm had never heard of anyone deliberately ignoring an assistance request and, in all fairness, he had no real proof that Bradley had done so now. Everything he said made sense. He shook his head, "At the moment there are more questions than answers about just what went wrong yesterday. You had better get up to Homicide, Stone's waiting for you."

"Sure, Sarge, you know I'll do anything I can to help. But frankly," he adjusted his Sam Browne, "Stone needs to accept that there was just nobody out there. It was change of shift and with only two units on the road, we just can't be everywhere!"

"We know you can't be everywhere," Norm said, trying to keep the irritation from his voice. "But you had to be somewhere, and we want to know where.

"I see," Bradley growled, "Blame the boys in blue, maybe Keller's inexperience had a major part to play in what happened as well." He turned and walked away, a small smile playing on his lips as he sensed Norm staring after him.

SOSF SOSF SOSF

Bradley stepped out of the elevator and walked casually across to the doors of the Homicide bullpen. This should have been the unit where he was assigned, he should have been Ston'e partner, but Keller, the know-it-all college boy had stolen his well-earned and well deserved promotion from him. Well, maybe this would teach the golden boy a lesson. He might have Stone fooled, but not him. It was inexperience and incompetence that got Keller shot. Maybe now Stone would finally see the truth.

Entering the anteroom of the Homicide offices, Bradley was met by the cold stare of the other officers as he sauntered through the bullpen and opened the door to Mike's office without knocking.

"Shut the door." Mike commanded as he glared at the paper on his desk, not offering the officer to sit down. Mike was in no mood to mince words as he leaned forward, his eyes boring into Bradley's. "Let's have it Bradley. Where were you when Inspector Keller was requesting assistance?"

He sighed loudly as his eyes met Mike's. Stone did not intimidate him as he answered levelly, "I was out on an obs. and away from the radio. As soon as I heard what was going on I rolled."

"Why isn't it in your log?"

Bradley sighed as though he couldn't believe he had to explain this again. "I rolled to Keller's location as soon as I heard what was happening. It was busy and I forgot. What's the big deal?"

"The big deal is that Keller said he saw you just minutes before his car was hit by gunfire." Mike rose from his chair, his anger rising.

"Look Lieutenant," Bradley did his best to look sympathetic, "I know you're upset about your partner getting shot, but it happened at shift change. Most units were still in the station and those of us in the field were tied up." He shrugged. "It just happened. It's nobody's fault. If you're looking for someone to blame, then maybe you should look at Keller. He's the one who got nailed by the sniper. If he had more experience this probably wouldn't have happened."

"Inspector Keller' experience has nothing to do with this situation!" Mike roared, his fist slamming down onto the desk causing Bradley to jump in surprise. "I want a full explanation of why you did not follow regulations and left your car without radioing in and why you were unavailable to acknowledge that call for assistance yesterday. And it had better be good!" Mike growled switching the tape recorder sitting on the desk onto record.

Glancing at the tape recorder, Bradley rolled his eyes and calmly began his report as ordered. "I was driving along Bush Street at 1330 hrs, that's 1.30 pm Lieutenant!" He added snidely as he saw Mike's face flush in anger but Mike remained silent as he continued, "I was flagged down by a young lady clearly in distress, she claimed her ex-boyfriend was threatening her and she wanted him removed from her premises of residence. She was extremely agitated and showed signs of having been assaulted but before I was able to call it in she returned to her house.

I guess I acted instinctively and left the car to follow her fearing she would be further assaulted instead of following procedure and radioing it in. That was my mistake and if I am to be punished for something than I would rather be punished for protecting a member of the public than follow procedure, wasting precious seconds to radio in my location than have an innocent woman be assaulted or worse…"

He paused dramatically for a moment for effect before continuing, "It took me almost an hour to calm the domestic situation and convince the ex-boyfriend that he needed to leave or else be arrested. By the time I returned to my car Keller' request had already been transmitted and the first I knew of the emergency was Unit 12's announcement that they were transporting Keller to the hospital. I rolled immediately to the scene. I believe I arrived on the scene at 1415 hrs."

"1420 hrs" Mike corrected coldly as he reached for pen and paper. "I want the name and address of this young lady in so much distress that you claim to have been occupied with at the time of the shooting."

The SFPD officer shrugged and pulled out his notebook, flicking through a few pages before he looked up and answered, "The victim's name was Tia Martin and the address is 1537 Bush Street, Tenderloin. I was flagged down at 1332 hrs and left the scene at 1410 hrs. It's all in my report, Sir, if you wish to check it."

Mike smiled coldly, "Oh, I will check your report after we speak to the 'victim' and if I find out that you are lying and ignored Inspector Keller's call, I will be speaking to you again. Count on it!" He assured the younger man as he reached across and hit the stop button. Bradley shrugged and nodded, expecting the reply but froze as Mike continued coldly, "Also Inspector Keller is your superior officer and if I am made aware of any more incidents of insubordination towards him from you again, I will step in and bring you up on disciplinary charges even if my inspector won't!"

A look of pure hate flickered across the SFPD officer's face but was quickly hidden behind a cold sneer as he nodded and asked, "Can I go now, Sir?"

Mike nodded and silently waved the officer out, watching in disgust as Bradley turned and sauntered out of the room seemingly unconcerned at his threat. He waited for a few minutes until he saw the man leave through the outer office before he stood up and walked to his office door. "Bill. I want to you to go and interview a woman who apparently flagged Bradley over yesterday at Tenderloin. Her name is Tia Martin and the address is 1537 Bush Street. Check with her the time she flagged him over, the reason and how long he was there and then get back here as fast as you can."

"Will do, Mike." Bill's acknowledgement floated over his shoulder as he turned and hurried out of the bullpen. "And Lee," Mike continued, "I want everything you can get on this lady. I want to know everything about her and if she has any links to Bradley. And I want to know before Bill gets back!"

"On it, Mike."

Turning and walking back to his desk, Mike rewound the tape and pressed play before he began to pace as he listened to the interview again.

SOSF SOSF SOSF

Entering the ICU, Bradley looked around, ensuring that his presence had not raised any suspicions from the nursing staff as they went about their duties. He doubted that anyone had even batted an eyelid as he casually wandered down the corridor searching for the right room, after all cops were not an unusual sight with in the hospital, including the ICU, especially in the following days after a 'fellow' officer had been injured on duty. His search was rewarded when he spotted the familiar figure of Keller lying in a bed in one of the rooms. With a covert glance to ensure no one was watching, the SFPD officer quickly entered the room and closed the door firmly behind him.

Staring at the sleeping figure in the bed, Bradley shook his head, "Well, the brat has really made a mess of things and has managed to get himself seriously wounded with his incompetence. No wonder Stone's so eager to find a scapegoat to blame for the kid's injuries!" He muttered as he stared at all the tubes and medical equipment that were connected to the patient. "Well, that scapegoat isn't going to be me! The kid screwed up all by himself and Stone is going to have no choice but to accept that, especially after the brat tells him that he was lying when he said I passed him a few minutes before the shooting!"

He muttered angrily to himself as he moved quickly to the side of the bed and reached for the slumbering man.

Grabbing Keller' shoulder, Bradley gave it a rough shake as he demanded, "Come on, Keller! Wake up!" The only response from the patient was a soft moan and the SFPD officer growled as he shook Keller even harder, bruising the tender skin beneath his grip and rocking the bed as he hissed through clenched teeth, "Come on kid, wake up! We have to talk!"

Steve moaned again and tried to pull away from the pain that was trying to work its way through his murky mind.

Bradley glanced at the closed door. Increasing his already painful grip he shook the groggy patient even harder. "Come on Sleeping Beauty, I don't have all day!"

His persistence was at last rewarded as Steve slowly opened his eyes and looked up at him in confusion. "M...Mike?"

Bradley's lip curled up in disgust as he released the patient's shoulder. "No Golden Boy, it's not Mike. He's not here this time for you to tell your dirty little lies to." Steve blinked again trying to get through the drugged confusion in his brain as he tried to focus on the person in front of him. "Bradley?"

"Yeah Sunshine, the one and only!" The SFPD officer growled menacingly, "And we need to have a little chat about your incompetence and the lies you told Mike this morning!"

Steve was having a hard time focusing and couldn't make sense of what Bradley was trying to tell him. "What? L-lies? Bradley? Where...where's Mike?"

"You don't need to worry about Mike. You need to worry about me, and we're going to get some things straight right now. You never passed me on the road, and you'd better make sure Mike understands that."

The menacing officer's words finally broke through the drug haze that held him and Steve shook his head as the memory of what had happened re-emerged, "You're the one…who's lying!" He panted as he struggled to sit higher in the bed, "I saw you… pass me a few… minutes before…the… shooting."

Pushing himself higher on the pillow he gasped as he pulled against the stitched wound in his chest. He closed his eyes and tried to swallow the vertigo that swept over him. "I...saw...you."

"No, you didn't. You were mistaken and that's exactly what you're going to tell Stone." Bradley corrected the wounded man as he grabbed the front of the hospital gown Steve wore and pulled the patient closer, ignoring the increasing beeps of the heart monitor.

Raising his arm in an attempt to push Bradley away, Steve shook his head more adamantly, "I'm not going… to lie for you… Bradley! We…both know…that you… drove…past…"

"Yeah, I did, Sunshine, and I never bothered to respond to your request for back up but that's not what you are going to tell Stone because you are going to tell him that you were mistaken!" Bradley smiled malevolently as he pulled Steve even closer. "You see, I have an airtight alibi. I was miles away when you got yourself shot! And you are going to admit that you lied just to try and get me into trouble. After all you have been causing trouble for me ever since you became a big shot and took my position in Homicide!"

Bradley's words had a strange, echoing sound as he tried to make sense of the words. "Your...your position?" The room was beginning to spin and the intense pain in his chest was making it hard to breathe as Bradley tightened his grip, twisting the hospital gown.

"My position?" Bradley grated out through anger-clenched teeth as he began to shake Steve violently, his rage boiling to the surface, "The damn position that you stole from me! I was supposed to be the next Homicide inspector! Not you!" Bradley hissed, his spittle hitting Steve in the face as he shook the young inspector like a broken rag doll, oblivious to the young man's moans of agony as his body was jerked to and fro. "You think you are so much better than I am! But I showed you yesterday, didn't I? I showed everyone just how incompetent you are!"

He continued to shake the wounded man until the sound of an alarm close to the bed broke through his rage and he heard running footsteps coming towards the room. Releasing his grip on the now bloodied robe, he allowed Keller' now limp body to drop heavily back against the pillows as he rose and quickly looked around for an escape. The open bathroom door offered his best place of concealment and he quickly crossed the room and stepped inside closing the door tightly behind him.

Stepping into the room, the nurse quickly hurried to the side of the bed and hit the alarm button, silencing its shrill noise as she turned her attention to her patient. The young inspector was unconscious, the front of his gown bloodied and disheveled.

She quickly checked his breathing and pulse, ensuring he was in no immediate danger before she gently removed the gown and carefully lifted the surgical dressing away from the wound. She frowned as she studied the newly exposed surgical wound. Several stitches had been pulled out causing the bleeding but luckily however restless the young man had become upon awaking he had not managed to dislodge the chest tube. She shook her head amazed the inspector had managed to become so restless as to do this much damage to himself as she quickly removed the bloodstained dressing and pulling a sterile dressing from the trolley near the bed, taped it securely into place before hurrying from the room to page the attending doctor.

Hearing the footsteps leave the room, Bradley cautiously opened the door and glanced out. Seeing the room empty except for the unconscious man in the bed, the SFPD officer quickly made his exit, keeping his head low as he casually walked past the nurses' desk and out of the unit's main door.


	5. Chapter 5

Bill stopped in front of the house and double-checked the address in his notebook. Approaching the door, he stood slightly to the side as he knocked, listening for the sound of movement inside. He raised his hand to knock again but stopped as he heard a shuffling sound within a moment before the door opened and an emaciated young woman with distrustful eyes peered cautiously at him, "Yes?"

He smiled and pulled out his ID, flipping open the leather case to reveal his card and gold shield as he answered, "Bill Tanner, San Francisco Homicide, Miss Martin?" At the girl's confirming but silent nod continued, "I would like to speak to you a minute."

She eyed the ID card and the badge for a moment before she reluctantly nodded and stepped aside allowing him entrance. Bill stepped into the room, surveying it with the practiced eye of a seasoned inspector while Tia stood uncomfortably a few feet away twisting her hands nervously. He tried to smile reassuringly at her as he began to explain, "I'm sorry to disturb you but we are following up on your assault case yesterday and I would like to ask you a couple of questions about what happened."

"I already told the officer. Why don't you talk to him?" Tia asked defensively as she unconsciously began to rub her arms, wishing that Bradley had not warned her against taking a hit before the police came to talk to her.

"We have his report and that's why we're here. First of all," Bill softened his voice as he noted the bruises that marred the young girl's arms and face, "we want to make sure you're okay."

A look of surprise crossed her face and she shifted nervously. "I'm fine."

"Did your boyfriend do that?" Bill asked gently as he nodded towards the marks.

The young girl swallowed and nodded, as she looked down at the floor, unable to look the inspector in the eye as she answered, "Yeah, yesterday, I thought he was going to kill me."

"I'd like you to tell me what happened yesterday." Seeing the terrified look that flickered across her face, he added, "Take your time, I just need to know what happened and what the officer did to assist." She nodded as he continued, "Can you tell me how you contacted Officer Bradley and what he did?"

Unwilling to move away from the comforting security of the open door as she ran her hands nervously up and down her arms as though she was cold, Tia stared at the bare wood floor as she related the story just as she had been instructed. "My boyfriend… umm… Gary and I were having a fight about money… when he…um… he," She shifted uncomfortably under the inspector's gaze as she closed her eyes and forced herself to continue, "he umm…lost his cool and began to hit me. I guess I panicked and tried to get away but he grabbed me. I managed to get loose and tried to run but he grabbed me again harder and then he began to beat me… I managed to get away, I still don't know how I did it but I ran outside. That's when I saw the police car and the officer driving by. I ran out in the street and flagged him down and told him what was happening. That's when he came inside." She paused and looked outside as though longing to vanish. "He made my boyfriend leave."

"Can you remember the officer's name or what time this happened?" Bill asked gently, watching the girl's reaction carefully. "Also, I need to know what your boyfriend's name is and do you have an address where we can find him?"

"My boyfriend is Gary Tommings, he really hasn't got a place that he can call his own." She shrugged almost as if embarrassed as she dropped her voice and admitted, "He's homeless just tends to drift from place to place." Frowning, she ensured she sounded confused as she answered the cop's next questions, "I'm not sure why the officer's name isn't on the report but I think his name was Bradley and it happened about 2 o'clock."

Bill nodded as he made notations in his notebook. "Do you know how long the officer was here?"

Biting her lip, Tia appeared to think for a moment before she answered, "I guess he would have been here about twenty minutes, maybe even a little longer. I still don't understand why you are asking me that."

Jotting down the estimated time Bradley had attended the call, Bill snapped close his notebook and smiled, "Just checking a few details in his report." He answered truthfully before he asked, "Would you like to be taken to the ER and get those bruises checked? They look pretty nasty!"

Blushing, Tia raised her hand to her face and gently prodded her cheek, before she shook her head, "No thanks, it looks worse than it is."

Bill nodded as he stepped towards the door, his eyes met her for a moment before she looked away. "You know we're here to help you. You don't need to be afraid."

"Thanks," Tia whispered as she watched the inspector leave and walk down the pathway towards his car before closing the door slowly behind her.

Sliding into the driver's seat of the sedan, Bill turned and stared up at the house. He had sensed the young girl was being less than truthful but why?

SOSF SOSF SOSF

Taking off his glasses and rubbing his tired eyes, Mike waited as he heard his two inspectors enter his office before he looked up and asked softly. "What have we got?"

Lee opened his notebook and began his report. "Tia Martin, twenty -three, born in here in san Francisco, is the youngest of three children. Her parents still reside here but her older brothers have both moved to the New York. Miss Martin lives alone at 1537 Bush Street. She is currently unemployed with no visible means of support- not even welfare."

"Someone keeping her perhaps, or maybe supporting herself by prostitution?" Mike asked.

"None of the neighbors have noticed anything unusual, or at least if they have they aren't saying anything." Bill interrupted.

"She has numerous arrests for prostitution and drug possession in the past, but get this, Mike, about five months ago the arrests suddenly stopped, no wants or warrants, nothing. It's almost as if she has become a model citizen." Lee shook his head, "She's cleaner than a new dollar bill!"

Mike leaned back and drummed his fingers on his desk, "That's a pretty quick turnaround. She has to be getting her money from somewhere."

"And," Bill added, "it's obvious she's no stranger to drugs." Mike cocked his head and looked at his inspector with interest as Bill explained, "She was hanging out for a hit when I spoke to her this afternoon. A definite junkie!"

"She may be working some of the higher end hotels, clients who are willing to pay a bit more so she has to work less. This would give her the money she needs and keep her occupation away from the neighbors." Mike suggested but his inspector shook his head.

"Doubt it Mike, unless her clients are desperate johns who have picked her up off the streets. The drugs have really ravaged her, a mild breeze would blow her over." Bill answered.

Mike nodded, but knew there had to be more to this. "What have you found out about the boyfriend?"

"Other than he seems to like to hit her when he gets mad, not much. She says his name is Gary Tommings. He lives on the streets and no one admits to seeing him lately."

"Gary Tommings?" Lee asked. At Bill's nod, Lee gave a low whistle and shook his head, "I knew him when I walked the beat with SFPD. He was always on the streets either high or strung out. I'm surprised that he is still alive, the drugs were killing him!"

Mike looked across at his two inspectors as he told them "We need to find this guy. Someone has to know where he is."

Both men nodded as Mike returned his attention back to Bill, "So the girl confirms the times that Bradley claims he was dealing with her?"

"She says she ran out of her house about 2pm after her boyfriend became violent during an argument and saw Bradley passing in the police car and waved him over. She claims that he was dealing with her domestic situation until at least 2.20."

"Steve insists he saw Bradley just moments before the shooting, but the girl backs Bradley's story about being away from the car." Mike sighed, "Is it possible she's lying?"

Bill shrugged, "She had bruises that back up her claims that she had been assaulted and what reason would she have to lie? Unless she knows Bradley."

"There's nothing in her background that shows she does." Lee interrupted.

Bill watched as Mike paused to look again at Bradley's report that had taken up permanent residence on his desk. "I've been checking with some of my snitches, Mike, and no one is talking, Tommings must have gotten the word out that wants to be invisible."

"Well he's has to come up for air sometime gentlemen, and when he does, we'll be there." Mike growled as his phone began to ring. Sighing at the interruption, Mike picked it up and snapped, "Stone."

The two inspectors watched as their boss's hand tightened around the phone and anger flashed across his face as he listened to what the caller was saying. With a terse, "We'll be right there!" He slammed down the phone, rose out of his chair, grabbed his coat and rushed around the desk and headed towards the door with Lee and Bill quickly following him. "Steve's been assaulted in the ICU. He is claiming that Bradley threatened him!" Mike growled as the three men ran out of the door.

SOSF SOSF SOSF

Bradley pulled into the SFPD parking lot and turned off the engine before he grabbed a pale green booking slip from his posse box, attached it to his clipboard and quickly filled in the blanks. Double-checking the dates and times, he slammed the car door shut and strode briskly into the station. Heading straight for the secretaries' office, he zeroed in on the newest and youngest secretary who was seated conveniently next to the door.

"Hi Emi."

Stopping her typing, the delicate young oriental woman with waist-length raven hair turned and smiled. "Hi Officer Bradley, what can I do for you?"

He smiled as he placed the booking slip in front of her. "Can you remove these warrants from the system? I picked up this guy earlier, and since he already posted bail, I wouldn't want him picked up again by accident."

She picked up the booking slip and looked at it carefully, a look of mild uncertainty crossing her face as she typed in the name. "I've never done one of these before," she said slowly as her eyes scanned the computer screen.

Leaning down and looking over her shoulder he pointed to a small green box. "Just click on that and the warrants will be removed."

"Thanks." Reading further down the screen she glanced up, "I think I need Gary Tommings' booking number."

Reaching for the booking slip he reassured, "Don't worry about that. The jailer was busy so I'll get one later. As long as those warrants are cleared is all that matters right now."

"Okay. Maybe I should check with my supervisor..." but the ringing of the phone interrupted her, and when she turned back, Bradley was gone.

The Briefing Room was empty as Bradley ran the booking slip through the shredder. Tommings' outstanding warrants had magically disappeared, so now he didn't need to worry about anyone else arresting the loser and have him spill his guts. He smiled to himself as he strolled toward the locker room. 'You belong to me now Tommings, and if you disappear, no one is going to be looking for you."

SOSF SOSF SOSF

Looking up from writing his latest medical orders for the nursing staff in Steve's medical chart, the doctor watched the three inspectors enter the ICU. Even from the nurses' desk, he could see the tension and anger in the body language of the three men. He rose from his seat and hurried to meet them as they approached, grabbing the lieutenant's arm and guiding the three into a vacant office where he could talk to them in privacy.

"How's Steve? Is he all right?" Mike demanded, ignoring the doctor's gesture to take a seat, "How the Hell did someone manage to get into his room and assault him without the staff noticing?"

Holding up his hand to ward off any more heated questions, the doctor quickly explained. "Even though this is the ICU and has strict visiting, the nurses have been complaining that since Inspector Keller's admission he has had a continuous flow of visitors, police officers, who don't seem to think the rules apply to them and wander in and out without always checking with staff if they can visit him. The nurses have tried to stay vigilant and have turned many away but they do have other patients and some may have slipped in and out un-noticed. I believe this is what may have happened this morning.

The nurses were dealing with an emergency with another patient when they heard Steve's heart monitor alarm sound. When the nurse entered the room to check him, she found him unconscious and his wound bleeding from torn stitches. At first we believed that he had become extremely restless and had pulled the torn the stitches himself."

"But he is heavily sedated! I don't understand how he could possibly become restless enough to cause that much damage." Mike frowned.

"Sometimes it's a side effect of the powerful painkillers that Inspector Keller is receiving. They can cause the patient to hallucinate or to become extremely restless. It's not common but it does happen." The doctor explained. "And we had no reason to think anything else was amiss until he regained consciousness a few minutes later and began rambling about being attacked in his bed by a police officer named Bradley. I would have normally dismissed what he said except…" Doc paused and looked the lead inspector in the eye before he continued, "Except when I examined him, I found fresh bruises on both his shoulders and arms. The shape and location of the bruises do suggest that someone grabbed Inspector Keller and shook him violently just as he is claiming. That could explain the torn stitches."

Mike's jaw tightened in rage as he turned his attention to his two inspectors, "I want a guard placed on Steve's room right now."

Lee jumped to his feet and was out the door in seconds, "On it, Mike."

Turning his attention back to the doctor, Mike snapped, "How long did it take the nurse to respond when Steve's alarm went off? Was there anyone in the room when she entered?"

The doctor shook his head, "That's the part that doesn't make sense to what Inspector Keller is telling us, Lieutenant. The nurse responded immediately when she heard the alarm and the room was empty except for Inspector Keller when she entered it. There was no time for anyone in that room to leave it without being spotted after that alarm sounded."

"Is there any place where someone could hide?"

The doctor shrugged, "The bathroom maybe, but he would have had to be quick to have hidden in there before the nurse entered the room."

"When the alarm went off it would only take seconds to hide. How long was the nurse in the room? Did she leave Steve alone for any time?"

"She would have had to leave the room for at least a minute or so to page me." The doctor conceded.

"More than enough time for someone to sneak out of the room un-noticed. Bill, contact Charlie, tell him I want him to check out the bathroom ASAP." Mike ordered before he returned his attention back to the doctor, "Can I speak with Steve?"

The doctor knew there was no putting off the upset Homicide lieutenant any more than he already had, "Sure, he's been asking for you. I'll take you to his room. I'm just not sure how coherent he will be though, I had to give him more morphine and a local anesthetic before I could re- stitch the torn stitches."

Mike nodded his understanding as he followed the doctor out the door, Lee joining the trio as they headed towards Steve's room.


	6. Chapter 6

The young inspector looked frail and weak, his gray complexion still evident as the three inspectors and the doctor entered his ICU room.

Mike stood next to the bed and studied his friend as he reached down and gently rubbed the cool arm. "Steve, can you hear me?" His question was rewarded as he watched Steve's eyes flutter and then slowly open.

"Mike!" Steve gasped in obvious relief, as the young man struggled to rise, ignoring the pain that tore through his body as he attempted to pull himself upright.

Mike watched confusion and then...fear? … cross his partner's tired face.

"Mike, he was here! Bradley was here."

"Easy Steve, easy," Mike softly ordered as he gently but firmly pressed Steve back down against his pillows, "Take your time and tell me precisely what happened."

"He said I didn't see him, and I … I took his job and...and..." Steve shook his head, trying to get his muddled thoughts straight.

"Take your time, Steve." Mike told Steve as he cast a quick worried glance towards the doctor, who was watching the increasing beeps on the heart monitor, before returning his attention back to the agitated young man in the bed.

Nodding, Steve tried to take a couple of calming breaths before he started again. "Bradley was here, Mike. He … he was like …some crazy man, he was shaking me and … demanding me…to lie…to say that I never saw him…, but I did see him, Mike. He passed me just before…"

Mike nodded and squeezed his young friend's arm, "I know you saw him, Steve, I believe he passed you minutes before you were ambushed yesterday, but Buddy boy what I need to know is what happened today, in this room."

Steve winced as he shifted in the bed, but never took his eyes off Mike's as he fought against the sedatives running through his system. "He claims… that I …took his promotion, I was…lying about seeing him…just… just…to get him in trouble…He said I had… to tell you the truth…when I refused to lie… he laughed…He said I would…never … be able….to prove he was …there…." Steve's voice trailed off and his eyes slid shut as he murmured "He...he grabbed me. He...he said I took his job...He...he..." But his next sentence was lost as his head gently rolled to the side and he slipped into a drug-induced sleep.

The four men stood silently watching him for several more seconds, each lost in their own thoughts about what the young inspector had said. The spell was broken as Mike turned and began to stalk angrily out of the room. "I want Bradley in my office now!"

SOSF SOSF SOSF

Bradley drove his patrol car slowly along the small suburban street, eyeing the two young women with the sun bronzed skin who were washing their car in one of the driveways when his attention was drawn to the voice on the radio. "Unit 14."

Bradley sighed. 'What now?' he growled softly to himself, disinterested in dealing with anyone else's problems since he had enough of his own.

Word had filtered through the grapevine that Stone did not want his golden boy left alone for a moment. Bradley's hands tightened around the steering wheel, strangling it, as he wanted to strangle Keller. If Stone had decided to guard his precious college boy that meant just one thing, the spoiled brat had squealed. Well, Bradley decided, Mike's golden boy deserved another visit and next time he would understand why he shouldn't dare to try and cross his betters.

Bradley snarled as the radio crackled again, "Unit 14 "

Snatching up the radio, Bradley impatiently growled, "Unit 14."

"Unit 14. 245 stabbing victim. Emergency Room. San Francisco General Hospital."

"Unit 14. 10-4."

Bradley dropped the radio back on the hook as he hung a U-turn in the middle of the narrow street, causing an oncoming car to hit the brake hard in order to avoid hitting him. Ignoring the blaring horn and the accusing look from the shaken driver, he laughed out loud as he accelerated toward the hospital. Some days you just get lucky.

SOSF SOSF SOSF

Parking in the red zone next to the Emergency Entrance, Bradley sauntered in, looking for his stabbing victim. Stopping an obviously busy nurse, he rudely demanded the location of the victim. She pointed to a closed white curtain before she turned and hurried away.

Bradley paused and watched her walk away, before he walked across to the curtained cubicle she had indicated and pushed the curtain aside revealing the young stabbing victim who was sitting on the gurney, the cut on his arm was wrapped in a bloody white bandage. Since the wound was not life threatening, Bradley wasted little time in getting the young man's personal information and a brief synopsis of what had happened. When the victim refused to name his attacker, it was obvious that this case would be a waste of time, and he brusquely informed the young man that if he wished to make a formal complaint against his attacker, he could do so at SFPD. Bradley closed his notebook, uninterested in obtaining any more details as he turned and headed towards the elevator. Besides, he had more important things than just a mere stabbing to deal with.

In briefing that morning, it had been announced that a guard was going to be placed outside Keller's hospital room, and the schedule was posted on the board. After briefing everyone checked the schedule, making a note of when it was their turn. Bradley found it no surprise that his name had not been included on the schedule.

Stepping out of the elevator, he walked casually toward Keller' room, the presence of an officer was not unusual and basically ignored by the busy staff. Slouched in a chair the officer on duty was absorbed in a travel magazine, and looked up in surprise at the sound of his name.

"Hey, Dave, how's it goin'?"

Officer Neil sat up a bit straighter and stretched. "Slow, boring. What brings you here?"

Bradley looked over Neil's shoulder at the picture of a sun-baked desert, "Had a stabbing victim down in the ER. Nothing big, he won't say who did it. You know how it is, the kid refused to co-operate, so why bother with a report." He shrugged as he glanced around at the empty corridor before he looked back at the other officer and smiled, "Hey Man, I'm going to be here till the docs are done downstairs. Why don't ya take a quick break? I'll cover for you."

Neil stood up and tossed the magazine on the chair, "Thanks, Brad. That would be great. I could use a cup of coffee."

Bradley picked up the magazine and plopped himself in the chair as he waved Dave away. "No problem. Take your time."

The officer had no sooner disappeared behind the elevator door, then Bradley disappeared behind the door to Keller' room.

SOSF SOSF SOSF

Stepping into the room, Bradley crossed quickly across to the bed and roughly shook the slumbering patient awake. He waited until the kid's eyes opened wide in surprise before he slapped his hand over Keller' mouth preventing the young inspector from making a noise as he leaned down and whispered. "You think you're smart, don't you? You thought by telling Stone about my little visit earlier that Stone could protect you! Well you're wrong like you always are, you stupid, little college boy 'cause I'm here and if I wanted to I could easily wring your neck like a chicken and nobody would even be the wiser! Now I am going to be extra nice to you this time and give you another chance to tell Stone that you lied when you said that you saw me. But be aware kid, if you don't do as you are told and decide to tell Stone about this little talk, the next time I see you, and there will be a next time, I will be the last person that you ever see! Do I make myself clear?"

Removing his hand, he waited for the frightened answer of 'Yes, Sir' but was surprised and shocked when Keller continued to stare calmly up at him, the beeps of the heart monitor barely increasing. He frowned in confusion at the lack of fear or panic from his victim and jumped when Keller answered him quietly. "You're a bully, Bradley … a poor pathetic bully …and if you think that …your threats are going to frighten… me than you are sadly… mistaken. We both know what …you did and so… does Mike and it's only… a matter of time… before everyone else does!"

He blinked and backed away, uncertain of what to do as Keller's eyes track his every move. Confused and for the first time in his life, a little frightened himself, he tried to hide his own fear as he threatened with a quivering voice, "You're wrong Keller, I'm the one they will believe!" Unable to remain under the patient's scrutinizing stare, he turned and hurried out of the room as he took several deep breaths in an attempt to control his own thumping heart.

SOSF SOSF SOSF

Bradley was slouched uncomfortably in the chair, legs stretched out in front of him when Neil returned a few minutes later, coffee in one hand and another travel magazine in the other. "Thanks Brad. Pulling guard duty makes for a long day."

Bradley smiled weakly as he rose out of the chair and clapped the officer on the back. "No problem, Davey, anytime. Well, I'd better get back to the ER and see what the doc has to say before I kiss this whole thing off."

Neil chuckled and shook his head as he settled back in the chair. Same old Brad. Get out of anything whenever possible.

SOSF SOSF SOSF

Knocking on Mike's door, Lee didn't wait for his boss to answer before he entered the office, "Mike Bradley is out on a job but Headquarters will instruct him to proceed immediately to here as soon as he radios back in."

Mike nodded, unsurprised at the announcement, he expected Bradley to try and fly low under the radar. He wondered for a moment, how many more calls Bradley would decide he needed to attend before he would finally make himself 'available'. "Any luck with the boyfriend, Gary Tommings?"

Lee frowned and stepped closer to Mike's desk, his confusion evident upon his face as he answered, "He's hiding good Mike, almost as if the ground has swallowed him up but…"

"But?" Mike demanded.

"But it's weird Mike, this morning all his wants and warrants have disappeared."

"Disappeared? How?" Mike growled, already suspecting who was responsible, as Lee shrugged, "I want the person responsible for pulling them from the system in my office yesterday! And I want Bradley here even sooner!"

"On it, Mike." Lee answered, rushing out of the office.

SOSF SOSF SOSF

Mike looked up as he heard a light timid knock on his office door and gently invited the obviously nervous young woman into the office.

"Thank you for coming Miss Redding." He smiled at her as she sat down on the chair in front of his desk as he continued gently, "I just want to ask you a few questions about some warrants that you removed from the system."

Sitting stiffly in the chair, she held her hands tightly in her lap as she tried to keep them from shaking.

Mike looked down at the rap sheet on his desk, then at the terrified young secretary. "Miss Redding, you removed two warrants for Failure to Appear for Gary Tommings. What can you tell me about that?"

Shifting nervously, Emi related how Officer Bradley had brought her a booking slip and had her remove the warrants from the system. He said that Tommings had posted bail and didn't want to take a chance on someone else arresting him by mistake. She had been concerned about the lack of a booking number, but he said he'd take care of it and she thought he'd given it to another secretary.

"Did he say anything or do anything that seemed unusual?"

The deep brown eyes met Mike's steady gaze. "No sir." She hesitated a moment, "I had never removed a warrant before and wasn't sure how to do it, but Officer Bradley showed me how. I thought that was nice of him."

Mike gave her a tight smile. "Yeah, nice." Standing he extended his hand and she took it lightly in her small one, "Thank you for your time Miss Redding. You've been a great deal of help."

Smiling nervously, Emi stood and exited the room, taking a deep breath of relief as the door shut behind her.

Mike looked at the rap sheet before he rose and walked to his door, "Bill, Lee, can you both come in here."

Seconds later both inspectors were standing in their lieutenant's office, watching their boss intently.

Mike took Steve's place on the edge of the desk. "Bradley had the newest secretary remove the warrants. He was even nice enough to show her how. He told her the guy had posted bail."

Bill and Lee looked at him as Lee said in surprise, "But you can't bail out on a warrant."

Mike nodded, "That's why he picked the new girl. She didn't know. Lee."

"Yes, Mike?"

"I want you to check the Jailer's gate-book for the day those warrants were removed and see if Gary Tommings was ever in custody. And Bill, I want you to go to the DA's office and check with his secretary and see if any kind of hearing or court date was set for Gary Tommings on warrants."


	7. Chapter 7

Picking up the report on Steve's shooting, Mike frowned as he tried to put the pieces of the puzzle together. It was obvious that Bradley held a grudge against Steve, resentful the younger man had been promoted to the Homicide team while the patrol man had been passed over and over again for any promotion. The man's jealousy had reached the point where he was willing to turn his back and deliberately ignore Steve's 'Officer Needs Assistance' call. And why did Steve decide to try and handle Bradley's insubordination and bullying on his own? Mike sighed as he knew the answer, Steve had wanted to prove that he could handle it on his own. The ringing of the phone broke his reverie and he placed the report back down on his desk and snatched it on the second ring, "Stone."

"Hey, Mike, I checked the gate-book. No record for Gary Tommings on the day the warrants were cleared, or for a week in either direction."

"Thanks Lee." Mike sighed, unsurprised with Lee's findings as he slowly hung up the phone and sat back down on his chair. He knew Bill would be calling soon from the DA's office and his results would probably be the same...nothing. Gary Tommings had never been arrested and Bradley had pulled the warrants. Why? He wanted answers and he wanted them yesterday!

Snatching up the phone as it began to ring again, he snapped, "Stone!"

"Mike, it's Bill. I just spoke with the D.A's secretary about Tommings' court dates for the warrants that were pulled. He was due in court about an hour ago but was a no-show. The judge has issued an arrest warrant and I contacted the guys in uniform and made sure that they know it's a high priority case and when arrested, Tommings is to be brought immediately to Homicide."

Mike swallowed the frustrated growl that rose in his throat, Bradley had so far been one step ahead but Homicide was catching up fast. Wiping his hand over his face he ordered, "Thanks Bill, head back to the office so we can work out our next move."

"Will do," Bill quickly responded as he heard Mike's phone hang up in his ear. Placing the phone on its receiver he smiled and thanked the secretary before he turned and left the office, his thoughts focused on Bradley and how the dirty cop manipulated the system for his own crooked motives. There was one type of person Bill detested more than anyone else and that was a person who preyed on and bullied the weak and the vulnerable. The fact that Bradley used his trust and position as a police officer made his behavior even more abhorrent.

SOSF SOSF SOSF

Lee headed towards the elevator, his mind was on Bradley and what a bad apple this guy was when he was startled by the man who suddenly appeared in front of him after stepping out of an empty office. Lee couldn't have been more surprised. "Gary!"

"Shhh." Tommings hissed, pulling Lee into the office from which he had just emerged. "You've gotta help me, man. We've known each other for a long time, you know?" Tommings paused as he looked nervously around and continued in a whisper, "Listen, man, I need your help. He's gunna kill me."

Lee watched as the man again looked quickly around, "Who's gunna kill you?"

"Bradley, man, that's who! Where have ya been? He's bad news on the streets. He wants..." Tommings swallowed hard as though his throat had suddenly dried up. "He says he wants me to cover for him, but I know that won't be enough. I know he's gonna kill me."

Lee wrinkled his brow at the information, "Cover for him for what?"

Tommings shifted nervously from foot to foot as his eyes darted around, half expecting Bradley to jump out at him, before he turned back towards Lee and grabbed the inspector's arm as he begged, "Are ya going to protect me or not? C'mon man, you've gotta help me."

"Okay, man, I'll help you. If you want protection and want to talk about Officer Bradley, then we need to go see Lieutenant Stone."

Tommings nodded and jumped at the sight of a shadow of an officer walking past the frosted glass office door. "Come on man, anything, I'll even talk to the devil if ya want, let's just get somewhere where he can't get me!" he gasped, his grab on Lee's arm tightening in fright as Lee escorted him out of the office and across to the elevator.

SOSF SOSF SOSF

A quick knock on Mike's office door preceded the entry of the two men, and suddenly Gary Tommings found himself standing in front of the Homicide lieutenant whom Bradley had told him to lie to.

"Mike, this is Gary Tommings. He says Bradley is going to kill him and wants protection." Lee introduced him before nodding for him to sit on one of the chairs in front of the desk.

Quickly Gary sat down and warily watched as Mike stood up and walked around the desk to face him.

"Why does Bradley want to kill you?" The Lieutenant asked him softly.

"Will you protect me, man? You won't let him or any of those other cops hurt me?" Gary pleaded fearfully.

Mike nodded before reassuring the small, terrified man sitting in front of him. "Nobody's going to hurt you. You have my word on that. Now, why don't you tell me about Bradley?"

Visibly relaxing, Tommings nodded, then preceded to tell the two officers about his involvement with, and fear of, Officer Bradley. Tommings varied between pacing and sitting on the edge of the chair as he painted a portrait of escalating fear, intimidation, threats and pain inflicted by the SFPD officer over the last few months. By the end of his story Lee and Mike could barely conceal their feelings of anger and disgust.

"Thank you for coming to us Mr. Tommings, you did the right thing." Mike reassured the frightened man before he glanced across at his inspector and ordered. "Lee, get Mr. Tommings something to eat and then see that he is put in protective custody."

Lee nodded and gently pulled Gary to his feet and led him towards the door but as they reached the door, Tommings paused and looked back at Mike, "I guess Bradley doesn't own all of you after all."

"No, he doesn't," Mike answered softly before he promised solemnly, "In fact when I get my hands on Officer Bradley, he is going to find himself on the other side of the bars!"

SOSF SOSF SOSF

"Hey Man, did ya hear the news?" Bradley paused as he re-entered the ER when Glenn Jones hurried across and grabbed his shoulder. The younger police officer's eyes were shining bright as he ignored the look of annoyance that flickered across the older cop's face. "Did ya hear that Stone is questioning that boyfriend of the girl who was assaulted the other day?" At Bradley's questioning look, Glen waved his hand impatiently as he rushed to continue, "Ahh you know the one… the chick who waved you over at the same time Steve Keller was shot!"

Bradley frowned and quickly looked around to see if anyone was watching or listening. Satisfied no one was interested in the conversation, Bradley roughly grabbed the young officer's arm and dragged him across to a more private area as he hissed, "I thought the boyfriend had disappeared, that he was somewhere hiding, are you sure it's him?"

Glen grimaced as Bradley's grip tightened and pulling his arm free, he nodded, "Yeah it's him. Word on the grapevine is that the guy gave himself up to Lee Lessings." Glen paused as he looked up at the taller man, his sudden confusion evident on his face as he asked, "But hey man, what I don't understand is why the lieutenant would be looking so hard for him? I mean, after all it was just a simple domestic violence case, right? It wasn't as if you faked it or anything…I mean I know that you don't like Steve but…" The younger cop's voice trailed off as he studied the agitated man standing in front of him.

"What are you trying too imply?" Bradley growled softly, stepping closer to the smaller man, towering over him.

"You were busy with that call when Steve was shot, weren't you?" Glen asked, refusing to be intimidated.

The question took Bradley totally by surprise and he backed a step or two away as he looked around nervously before returning his attention back to Glen, "What do you mean? Of course, I was busy attending that scene. Look, I know I don't like Keller, but you don't really think I would turn my back on a fellow cop who is in trouble? Man if you do…" Bradley dropped his head in self-pity and took a deep breath before he ran a hand over his head and muttered, "Man, I can't believe you just asked me that…I mean…what sort of a cop…a person…do you think I am? Man…"

"Look Bradley, I'm sorry," Glen whispered, trying hard to reassure the upset man, "It's just that it seemed funny that Stone is investigating that call… and you were only unit that didn't respond…Look man, I'm sorry…I didn't mean to imply…"

Bradley nodded and slapped the younger cop's shoulder, "Yeah, well…" he began, "I can't blame you especially with Keller's lies." At Glen's questioning look, Bradley sighed and shook his head, "Keller has had it in for me since he made Homicide. The promotion has gone to the kid's head. He's decided to tell Stone that he saw me just moments before the shooting." Shrugging Bradley looked the other man in the eye as he said sincerely, "It's a lie, I was busy with the domestic case but he has the big boss doubting me. I guess that's why Stone is interviewing the boyfriend. He is going to be upset when he finds his golden boy isn't as pure as he thought."

Glen looked at him doubtfully, "That doesn't sound like the Steve Keller I know."

Bradley shrugged," That's the trouble; you never know how some guys will handle a position of power. Some like Keller just let it go to their head!' he grunted. "I better get going and see if the Doc has finished with my victim."

"Oh yeah," Glen nodded distractedly, lost in thought as Bradley turned and walked away. 'There's no way Steve would ever let power go to his head!' He watched as Bradley disappeared around the corner and a profoundly disturbing thought forced itself to the front of his mind, 'Did Bradley ignore Steve's call for assistance?'

Stepping back into the waiting area of the ER unit, Bradley headed towards the front doors ignoring the nurse who called after him, "Excuse me officer, but the doctor would like to speak to you about your stabbing victim." He never acknowledged her as he walked out of the hospital.


	8. Chapter 8

After watching his hospital room door close as Bradley left, Steve dropped his head tiredly back down on the pillows and stared up at the ceiling. What had he done for Bradley to hate him so much? He hardly knew the SFPD officer other than to nod to and say the polite hello. Bradley had ignored him totally when he was a uniformed officer but had become belligerent and rude, often refusing his orders after he had been promoted to Homicide. He knew that some of the older inspectors had felt that by the mere fact of seniority that they should have been selected into the Homicide spot and had at first been a little resentful...

He bite his bottom lip as he continued to wonder about the SFPD officer who had just left the room and he shook his head slowly, unsure just to handle the situation. Bradley had ignored his assistance call and had laughed about it to his face. The weak young inspector bit his bottom lip harder as he remembered Bradley's words. "I never bothered to respond to your request for back up but that's not what you are going to tell Stone because you are going to tell him that you were mistaken! You see I have an airtight alibi. I was miles away when you got yourself shot! And you are going to admit that you lied just to try and get me into trouble. After all you have been causing trouble for me ever since you became a big shot and took my position in Homicide! I was supposed to be the next Homicide inspector! Not you! You think you are so much better than I am! But I showed you, didn't I? I showed everyone just how incompetent you are!"

It was obvious the man was insane but how could he prove that? He frowned as he looked back towards the door, half expecting it to open and for Bradley to return with more threats or even worse, after all the man might be crazy but he was as slippery as an eel. He had managed to get past the guard Mike had placed at the door, so he could easily carry out his threat to kill him. Should he tell Mike?

Shaking his head, he nixed the idea – No! Bradley was a bully and needed to be treated as such. This was his fight and no one else's. Besides, if he did, the officer guarding him would get in trouble and he didn't want that to happen. Bradley could probably talk or sneak his way around just about anybody. Closing his eyes, the young inspector decided he needed to trap Bradley at his own game. Bradley seemed to like to boast to him about almost getting him killed - maybe Bradley's own words and big noting would be his own undoing. Maybe Bill or Lee would bring him a tape recorder and he could catch Bradley's threats on tape. That would nail him to the wall. He nodded slowly, pleased with the plan as he drifted back into a drug induced sleep.

SOSF SOSF SOSF

Bradley growled at the constant chatter from the radio and reached across, savagely turning down the volume knob as he narrowly avoided a slower car in front as he overtook it at high speed. That little worm Tommings had ran to Stone and spilled his guts! His hands tightened painfully around the steering wheel as he allowed his mind to drift to all the ways he was going to inflict a slow painful death to the pathetic little squealer! He would enjoy hearing the maggot's screams as he slowly and methodically tortured him. The last thing in this world that Tommings would see would be his laughing face!

He swung the wheel of the patrol car hard and cursed as he nearly hit another slow driver, but first he needed to get to Tia and make sure she knew what would happened if she was tempted to squeal! It was fortunate that she didn't live far from the hospital because his patience was strained to the limit. He would have liked to hit the siren and get these idiots out of his way, but he didn't dare attract the attention to himself.

Pulling up in front of her house, he slammed the car into park before it had completely stopped causing it to rock crazily back and forth. Slamming the car door behind him he was through the front door in seconds. Tia was stirring a pot in the kitchen and jumped in surprise as he burst in behind her. One look at his eyes caused her to drop the spoon she was holding as she shrank back in fear.

"I don't have time to waste on you," he growled as he grabbed her arm pulling her to within inches of his face and causing her to cry out in pain. "You listen to me and you listen good." His breath was hot on her face. "You're an accessory to the attempted murder of a police officer."

She gasped, her eyes wide in disbelief as she tried unsuccessfully to pull away from the painful grip he had on her arm. "NO! I didn't do anything!"

"Doesn't matter," he lowered his voice threateningly, "You know everything I did. You know about my not responding to the shooting and you know I tried to take him out in the hospital. You know and you didn't say anything, so now you're just as guilty as I am."

"I'm not!" she whispered, struggling uselessly again.

"Yes, you are, and if I go down, you're going down with me. This is Stone's golden boy we're talking about." He narrowed his eyes as he pulled her even closer. "Do you know what cops do to people who hurt other cops?"

She shook her head slowly, unable to speak and unable to believe what she was hearing.

"You're gonna learn there are a lot of ways to pay for a crime besides sitting in jail cell. Do you get my meaning?"

She nodded speechlessly and pulled her arm against her, rubbing it to ease the pain as he released her.

"I was never here today and you'd better stick with the story." He stepped forward menacingly as she pressed herself against the wall. "Any questions?"

Shaking her head, she managed to whisper, "No."

"Good. We have an understanding." With that he vanished from the room, followed within seconds by the slamming of the front door and the sound of a car accelerating away at high speed.

Tia continued to lean against the wall as she looked down at the bruises appearing on her reddened arm. How did she ever get into this, and was there any way out?

SOSF SOSF SOSF

Twenty minutes after the nurse told him the doctor wanted to talk to him about his stabbing victim, Bradley was back in the ER, listening with mock interest as he was up-dated on the victim's condition. The ER, as usual, was busy, and no one had noticed his absence. Thanking the doctor for his time, Bradley casually left the building. He didn't want anyone to think he was in a hurry.

No sooner did he turn on the engine and turn up the volume of the radio that he heard the call. "Unit 14"

Swallowing the curses that welled on the tip of his tongue he managed neutrally, "Unit 14." "Unit 14, respond to the station immediately and contact Lieutenant Stone."

"Unit 14 10-4." He slammed the mic back on the holder. Whatever Stone wanted with him he was ready. He had all of his bases covered and the great Lieutenant Mike Stone was not going to be able to make a dent in anything. He started to laugh. This just might be fun!

After the mad dash to Tia's house and then back to the hospital, Bradley made sure the trip back to the station was leisurely, even stopping to get something to drink along the way.

Strolling up the doors of the homicide unit, he once again stopped at the top to admire the view into the bullpen, his bullpen. Entering the anteroom to the Homicide offices he strode across to Mike's office and pushed open the office door. Kicking it shut with his boot, he never took his eyes from the man behind the desk. "So what do you want now, Lieutenant?"

Mike Stone was not a man to be intimidated. "Well, Officer Bradley, we're going to have a little discussion."

"How many times are we going to re-hash this shooting, Lieutenant? Why can't you get it through your head that Keller screwed up? He wasn't watching what he was doing, made a stupid mistake and got himself shot. Why do keep trying to blame me?"

Mike opened a file that was on his desk, pulled out a piece of paper and began reading ... Commendation for Inspector Steve Keller. He heard Bradley suck in a sharp breath as he read the commendation praising Inspector Keller for his bravery and personal sacrifice in saving the lives of the officers who inadvertently drove into the kill zone. The commendation ended by recommending that Inspector Keller be considered for the Medal of Valor. As he read the commendation, Mike watched Bradley's complexion redden and his hands close into fists.

Closing the folder, he looked closely at Bradley, "I don't call saving the lives of two officers making a stupid mistake. I call it an incredible act of bravery." Bradley watched him with narrowing eyes but remained silent. "Which brings us back to our original question. Where were you when Inspector Keller requested assistance?"

Bradley shifted his weight from one foot to the other, as he had not been invited to sit down. "I told you before. I was on an obs. at a domestic disturbance." He could feel his already razor thin patience grow even thinner. "Jeeze Lieutenant, how many times are we going to go over this?"

Mike shoved himself from his chair as he glared at the man in front of him, "As many as it takes." Suddenly Mike held out his hand. "Give me your notebook."

Bradley stared at Mike, completely taken aback. "My notebook? Why do you want my notebook?"

"Give it to me, and that's not a request."

Bradley slowly reached into his back pocket and pulled out his notebook, holding onto it momentarily before tossing it onto Mike's desk. He could feel sweat beginning to trickle down his back. He knew what Mike was looking for, the entry in his notebook regarding his alibi. He could feel his palms beginning to sweat. There was no notebook entry. That was one base he had forgotten to cover. He had put it in his log, but not in his notebook.

Mike slid the notebook across his desk and placed it into the same drawer from which he removed a small black tape recorder. Placing the tape recorder in the center of the desk he hit the "record" button then smiled malevolently at Bradley. "Let's take it from the top."

After once again reviewing Bradley's story about the domestic disturbance, Mike moved on to the next topic, the removal of the warrant for Gary Tommings. A light tap at the door preceded the arrival of Bill and Lee who settled themselves against the wall as their inscrutable faces and cold eyes watched Bradley as Mike asked. "So, Officer Bradley, why was the warrant for Gary Tommings removed from the system?"

Bradley took a deep breath and concentrated on the wall. "I told the secretary I wanted a copy of the abstract. I wrote the information on a booking slip so it would be easier for her. She said she had never done a warrant before so I showed her which box would remove it from the system so she'd know for the next time. She said something about a booking number, but I obviously didn't have one because Tommings was not in custody. I started to explain that to her but she got busy with a phone call. I never got my copy of the abstract and the hardcopy is still in the file. It was just a misunderstanding with a new kid. That's all."

Mike nodded but remained non-committal. The other inspectors continued to study Bradley. "Why did you want a copy of the abstract?"

"I wanted to have it with me because I run into this junkie every once in a while, and I wanted to have some leverage to squeeze him a little." Bradley gave an exasperated sigh, "Come on Lieutenant, you know how it is with snitches. You Homicide guys have expense accounts to pay these guys off, but us working slobs don't have that luxury and have to find other ways of doing business."

"Yeah, we've heard about you other ways of doing business," Lee muttered.

Mike glanced at Lee then continued, his voice threatening, "Why did you assault Inspector Keller in the hospital?"

Bradley's eyes opened wide in shock. "What the Hell are you talking about, Lieutenant? Are you crazy? I didn't assault Keller!"

"He said you did."

"Well he doesn't know what he's talking about," Bradley paused as though an amazing thought had just entered his mind, "Or maybe he does. Keller has been out to get me ever since he got this Homicide assignment. You have no idea what that kid is like outside this office. He's had it out for me since the beginning and he's not going to pin something on me I didn't do."

Suddenly Bradley felt a wave of confidence flow over him and glanced at the two inspectors before leaning on the desk and glaring at Mike. "You're all talk and no action, Stone. How about some proof of all these unsubstantiated allegations? Huh? Well? Until you come up with something I suggest you leave me alone or I may just have to contact the union. Harassment is illegal you know." Standing up and turning toward the door he smiled, "Anything else?"

"Not at the moment."

"Then I'll be on my way."

Bradley reached for the door as Mike's voice stopped him. "I'll be in touch." Bradley yanked the door open and slammed it shut behind him. Mike looked at his inspectors as the snap of the "off" button on the tape recorder plunged the room into silence.

Mike pushed the rewind button on the tape recorder as he looked at his inspectors, "Well, what do you think?"

Lee shifted his chair to better face his boss and stated matter-of-factly. "I think he's a lying sack. Gary Tommings was scared to death. He doesn't like cops and he wouldn't have to us for protection if he didn't have a life-or death reason."

"Have you spoken with him anymore?"

Lee shook his head. "I tried, but all he keeps saying is that we have to protect him. I'm hoping I can get him to make a formal statement, but right now he's just too scared, not to mention he hasn't had a fix."

"Keep on him, Lee. He trusts you enough that he came here. Make sure he knows we can help him."

"Will do, Mike."

Mike turned his attention to Bill. "So what do you think, Bill?"

"I think Bradley is a liar, and a good one. He knows the ropes and knows how to cover his tracks."

"What about the girl...Tia?"

Bill sat up a bit straighter in his chair. "She's scared, Mike. There was a lot that she wasn't saying."

"Do you think you could convince her to tell you what she really knows?"

Bill shook his head. "Don't know. She's scared."

Mike sighed and leaned back in his chair. "Go try again. Chin. Talk to Tia one more time. Lee, go up to lock-up and see if Tommings is feeling more cooperative."

"On it, Mike." Lee answered for both of them as they stood and headed toward the door.

After his office door closed, Mike opened the drawer and pulled out Bradley's notebook. Removing the rubber band that marked the current page, he began perusing the contents. "Okay, Bradley let's see what this has to say about where you were when Steve needed help."

SOSF SOSF SOSF

Flicking the notebook closed, unsurprised at the absence of the critical entry, Mike dropped it back into his drawer before closing and locking it. He picked up his pencil and began to tap it thoughtfully on his desk, Bradley was overconfident and arrogant, believing everyone believed his lies and that arrogance would be his undoing. He had already bragged to Steve that he had deliberately ignored his assistance call – but what if he had bragged to someone else?

Mike smiled as he dropped the pencil and stood up grabbing his coat as he rushed from the office. Who else better to brag to and be the big man than his wife!


	9. Chapter 9

The old screen door rattled under Bill's forceful knock.

"Yes?" The voice from within the small hose was soft and hesitant, the person standing far enough back that they were not easily seen by someone on the outside.

"Miss Martin? It's Inspector Tanner from Homicide. May I speak with you for a minute?"

The voice was no closer, the person still not visible behind the screen. "What do you want? I already told you everything I know."

"May I come in?"

Several seconds of silence preceded the unlatching of the old lock, allowing the door to open virtually of its own accord. Tia Martin, her rail thin body clad in flowered shorts and an old t-shirt stood back as the inspector entered. She crossed her arms across her chest as she shifted nervously from one bare foot to the other. "Well?"

Bill scanned the room, but nothing seemed changed from the last time. "Miss Martin, I know you're scared. I believe that Officer Bradley has been threatening you."

"NO!" she interrupted, the loud denial conflicting with the fear in her eyes.

"I want you to know that we're here to help you. I don't know what you've been told, but you have no reason to be afraid." Bill reached into his pocket and pulled out his business card. Tia backed away as he extended his hand, so he laid the card on a nearby table. "Here's my number. Don't be afraid to call."

Asking no questions, but hoping he had been able to build a foundation of trust, Bill thanked her for her time.

Tia stood in the doorway and watched the car drive away. She picked up the card, jumping and holding it behind her back as a sound startled her. It was the wind rattling the back door. Taking a deep breath to try and calm her taught nerves, she read the card. 'Inspector Tanner, San Francisco Homicide'. He had kind eyes, and despite everything Bradley had told her, she trusted him. Taking the card, she hid it in the bottom of her purse before she sat down heavily in an old wooden chair. She had a lot to think about.

SOSF SOSF SOSF

Turning down the radio, the small, tired looking woman thought she heard a knock at the door. Opening it she was surprised to see the tall, dark-haired man standing before her. "Yes?"

"Mrs. Bradley? I'm Lieutenant Mike Stone, San Francisco Homicide," He held up his flat badge ID for her to see. "I'd like to talk to you about your husband."

Irritation flashed across her face. "What do you want to know?"

"May I come in?"

Mrs. Bradley changed position so she was blocking the doorway. "No. Just tell me what you want."

"I have some questions about your husband..."

She held up her hand to stop any further explanation. "I have nothing to say about my husband...the loser. He comes and goes as he pleases. Sometimes I don't see him for days at a time. I don't know where he is and I don't care. He pays the bills and we leave each other alone."

Mike realized immediately that there would be no information forthcoming here. Obviously, the Bradley's were not on the best of terms. "Thank you for your time."

SOSF SOSF SOSF

Gary Tommings paced the jail cell. He was too antsy to sit or sleep for any length of time. A tray of food sat untouched on the small table that had been provided for him. Jail food wasn't the best. It didn't seem to matter what they called it, it all looked and tasted the same. The only thing he really liked was the chocolate pudding. It was a little grainy, but at least it had some flavor. He jumped at the sound of the cell door being unlocked. It wasn't time for the jailer to come by. He hoped it wasn't...

"Hey, Gary. Thought you might like some real food." Lee greeted as the jailer locked the heavy door behind him. He shoved the unappetizing metal tray to the side and set out containers of Chinese take-out.

Tommings wasted no time in grabbing the chopsticks and poking at the contents of the first container. "Thanks, man. This is great. The jail food ain't so good."

Lee sat on the edge of the bunk and watched the junkie shovel in the food. "So, Gary, they treating you okay, man?"

"Oh yeah, no problem. Three squares and all the water I can drink."

"You can't stay here forever you know. How about coming with me and having a talk with Lieutenant Stone?"

Tommings laid down his chopsticks and turned to look at Lee, fear clearly visible on his face. "He'll kill me, man."

Lee slid off the bunk and squatted in front of Tommings. "No, Gary. Nobody's gonna hurt you. Tell Lieutenant Stone officially what you know and we'll get this guy off the streets for good. We need your help, man."

Gary Tommings looked at the sincere, honest face that, despite his better judgment, he had come to trust over the years. Twirling the chopsticks around the noodles he reluctantly nodded. "Okay, man. I trust you. I hope I can trust Stone."

Lee patted him on the back. "You can trust Stone. Believe me."

SOSF SOSF SOSF

Things were moving quickly. Much more quickly than he had anticipated and not in the direction he had expected. It was impossible to understand how others could not understand things the way he did, but reality was upon him and he had to deal with it now in order to insure his future. Bradley momentarily hesitated as he reached for the shiny chrome handle on the smoked glass door. This was something he had planned and thought about for years, and now it was suddenly and unexpectedly upon him. Approaching the counter, he smiled at the receptionist as he pulled out his SFPD flat badge and showed his ID. "I'd like to retire."

SOSF SOSF SOSF

It had taken just over an hour to end one phase of life and begin another. The counselor had tried to persuade him to take his retirement as a monthly pay check like most people, but he insisted on a cash payout. Once approved by the Retirement Board, the money would be transferred to his account in twenty- four hours.

He hummed softly to himself as he walked out into the sunshine, he just had a few loose ends to tie up and then he could enjoy the rest of his life! Reaching his car, he opened the door and slid behind the driver's seat, he had one quick visit to make before he said his farewells to that brat of a college boy, he giggled out loud like an excited schoolgirl. Man, was he going to enjoy that visit!

SOSF SOSF SOSF

"Hi, Baby."

Tia nearly jumped out of her skin, the glass in her hand crashing to the floor. "You scared me!" She gasped, backing slowly away from the man towering over her and blocking her only means of escape.

He laughed as he stepped towards her and gently caressed her face. "There's no need for you to be scared if you have done what you were told!" he said softly, leaning down to kiss her face. Pulling away, Tia tried to dash around him but Bradley grabbed her arm, causing her to cry out in pain as he jerked her roughly back. "Where do you think you're going?"

"Away from you!" She hissed bravely as she straightened up to her full height, "You and your lies! I've had enough! I'm not covering for you anymore!"

Bradley squeezed her arm tighter, causing her once again to cry out in pain. "Really? And what do you plan on doing about it?"

Tia laughed almost hysterically, "I'm going to call a cop, like I should have in the beginning. I mean a real cop and not a pretender like you!" Reaching into her pocket, she removed a small card and smiled triumphantly up at him as she laughed again, "Oh look, I just happen to have his business card - Inspector Tanner, San Francisco Homicide. Isn't he a friend of that cop you tried to kill?"

"Why you little..."

Summoning up her courage, she looked him straight in the eye. "The cops in Homicide are on to you. You won't get away with what you've done and I...I'm not going down with you. You can't fool them. They're onto you and your web of lies."

"What did you tell him?" He roared, slamming her head against the wall, his rage magnifying his strength.

"The truth!" Tia gasped aware that she was about to die no matter what she said. "I told them everything like I should have from the start."

"The truth? THE TRUTH? You don't know how to tell the truth?" Bradley screamed as he slammed her head painfully into the wall again. "You're just street trash, who couldn't lie straight in bed! Why would they listen to you?"

"Because I have no reason to lie to them and they know it." She gasped blinking back the darkness that hovered at the edges of her vision. She cried out as he slammed her body back into the wall again, her head exploding in agony as she heard him scream at her.

"You're just trash. I'm the cop! They wouldn't believe you!"

Her head slammed back against the wall and this time the agony exploded into a flash of white before the room suddenly darkened and his shouts faded away into nothingness.

"Do you hear me?" He screamed again as he once more slammed her head viciously against the wall. Releasing his hold, he stepped back and watched as Tia's limp form slid to the floor. "This is all your fault. You brought this on yourself. You should learn to keep your mouth shut." Lifting his foot, he kicked the motionless body in the face, enjoying the sound of breaking bones as he whispered, "This is all your fault and that college brat of Stone's! You shoulda kept ya mouth shut!" Kicking the body again, he muttered, "Well guess you won't be squealing anymore and when I'm finished either will Keller!" Nudging the crumpled body with his foot one last time, Bradley spun around and headed for the door. She had it coming, and now he needed to make sure that Keller got what he too had coming.

SOSF SOSF SOSF

Frustrated and annoyed, Mike grabbed his mug of coffee and held it in his hands. He growled softly to himself as his hand tightened around the mug. Bradley was a bad cop, who believed he was a law unto himself. A man who had a total disregard for anyone else but himself, he knew the system and used it to his advantage, managing so far to keep one step ahead of them with his street smarts.

Mike shook his head, his arrogance would be his undoing, already he was slipping- the missing entry in his notebook might seem insignificant to some but it was just another nail in his coffin. Steve's own statement had begun Bradley's downfall, the missing notes just backed up the young inspector's statement. Hopefully if Tommings and the girl decided to co-operate, Bradley's elaborate house of lies would come tumbling down around him.

A light tap on his door was followed by the entrance of Lee, with Gary Tommings following hesitantly behind. Both men stood in front of the desk, as Mike looked up, Tommings fidgeting nervously, "Mike, Mr. Tommings would like to make a statement."

Mike motioned for both men to sit down as he looked across at the frightened man and asked gently. "Okay, what do you have to tell me?"

SOSF SOSF SOSF

It was over an hour later that Mike thanked Tommings for having the courage to come forward with his statement.

As Lee led Tommings from the office, Bill slid past them in the doorway, the look on his face warned Mike that the inspector's visit with the girl had not proven as fruitful.

Stepping in front of his Mike's desk, Bill's disappointment was obvious. "No go with Tia Martin, Mike, she's sticking to her story." He shook his head with sympathy and disgust, before he softly added, "But she's scared, really scared. Bradley has a good hold over her. "

"You tried, Bill." Mike told the upset man, "She has to realize that she can trust us."

The inspector nodded unhappily and sat down onto one of the chairs, nodding to Lee as the inspector returned after delivering Tommings to the SFPD officer waiting in the anteroom to return Tommings to the security of his cell. "Tommings has agreed to give us gave us a full statement in writing." Lee informed Mike as he eased himself into the chair. "He asked if he could finish eating the Chinese food I brought him first, before he gives his statement."

Mike smiled and look at his two inspectors. "That clinches it, we have the probable cause we need to subpoena Miss Martin but let's go talk to her first. Now that Tommings has made a statement, maybe she will too.'

The two other inspectors nodded and rose from their chairs as Mike stood up and grabbed his coat but their egress from the office was halted as the phone upon Mike's desk began to ring. Turning back to his desk, Mike reached and picked up the phone snapping impatiently into the receiver, "Stone."

"Mike," Norm's voice came over the phone. "You're not going to believe this. Bradley just turned in his paperwork and pulled the plug."

Mike looked at his inspectors who had paused in the doorway, surprise written all over his face. "Bradley's retired?"

"Sure did, Mike, as of earlier today. Nobody saw it coming."

"Thanks, Norm." Mike hung up the phone, leaning on it momentarily as he digested this new information.

Suddenly a feeling of uneasiness came over him. No one left like that without a good reason. Bradley was up to something. An unexplainable sense of urgency now urged him toward the door. "Let's go."

SOSF SOSF SOSF

Sauntering up to the SFPD guard standing outside the Intensive Care room, Bradley grinned and nodded. "How's it going, Jerry? Is Steve awake? I thought I'd drop in and pay him a quick visit. I know just how boring lying in a hospital bed can be!"

"I don't know Brad.' The officer said uncertainly, "He's not supposed to have any visitors. Lieutenant Stone made that pretty clear."

"Mike's talking about civilians," Bradley answered confidently, "I know that he doesn't mean a fellow officer in blue, why would he? But if you want to take his words literally…" Bradley shrugged and started to turn away, "tell Steve I said Hi and apologize for me that I wasn't allowed to visit!"

The young officer chewed his bottom lip for a few seconds before he called out to the man leaving, "Hang on, Brad." Bradley smiled to himself before he turned around slowly and looked back at the officer questioningly. "I guess it would be okay to let you in to see Steve but make it quick."

"Quick wouldn't be any fun," Bradley muttered under his breath as he pushed past the officer and through the door, shutting it solidly behind him.

Stepping across to the bed, he drew his gun and pressing the cold steel of the barrel against the sleeping man's head whispered, "Guess who?" as Steve instantly woke at the terrifying sensation.

Officer Thomas glanced nervously at hospital door he was guarding, suddenly regretting his decision to allow Bradley into Steve's room. The orders from Stone was No Visitors allowed- Steve was still in Intensive Care and needed to rest and recover. What if the lieutenant showed up? He'd be eaten alive. Quickly pushing the door open he stopped dead in his tracks. "Bradley? What are you doin' man?"

Without taking his eyes from his victim, Bradley growled, "Jerry get out of here! This is none of your business!" Grabbing Keller by the hair to stop him from moving, the older SFPD officer swung the gun towards Jerry threateningly, "I said GET OUT OF HERE!"

Thomas backed toward the door, reaching behind him to pull it open, not willing to take his eyes off the person he thought he knew. "Sure thing man, just be cool."

Sprinting to the nurses' desk, Jerry grabbed the phone and dialed the number as quickly as his shaking hand would allow. "Headquarters," he nearly shouted when the call was answered, "It's Officer Thomas, I need an urgent patch through to Lieutenant Stone, NOW!"


	10. Chapter 10

Pulling up in front of the small-unpainted timber home, the three Homicide officers alighted from their car before walking up the uneven pathway to the open door. Inside they could hear the soft music from a radio playing but Mike's knocks went unanswered. Mike frowned as he stepped into the living room and called loudly, "San Francisco Homicide, Miss Martin we would like to talk to you!"

The house remained silent and still, almost menacing. Silently unholstering his gun, Mike nodded at his two inspectors, giving them the silent order to spread out and search the house carefully. It was only a matter of seconds before the grisly discovery was made. Lee's voice rang through the small house, bringing his associates to his side in seconds.

The battered and bloody body of the young woman slumped on the floor next to the wall made Mike's heart sink as the bloody smear that marred the wall above her told the inspectors of the brutality inflicted on their victim. Years of experience telling them she was already dead without even needing to touch her.

"Dammit!" Mike growled in frustration, guilt and anger as he slammed his fist onto the table, "I should have known! Bradley is cleaning up! I should have had you bring her in! I should have realized he would do this!"

Bill was crouched near the lifeless body as he glanced up, "Mike, you don't have a crystal ball. You had no way of knowing this would happen."

Shaking his head, almost as if denying the softly spoken statement, Mike turned towards Lee, "You better get Charlie and the coroner over here and an APB out on Bradley!"

"On it, Mike," Lee nodded, turning and hurrying back out of the front door as Mike walked closer to the body.

"Looks like he beat her head into the wall, Mike." Bill said softly, staring at the bloodied back of Tia's head before glancing back up at the red stain on the wall.

"Yeah," Mike agreed as he knelt beside him.

"Mike!" Lee shouted from the front door, "Somethings happened at the hospital!"

A look of fear and horror flickered across Mike's face as he quickly stood and ran towards the door, his inspector on his heels as he grated out between clenched teeth, "My God, he's gone after Steve!" Remembering his obligation to the young woman lying dead in the kitchen, he turned suddenly, "Bill, we'll get some uniformed guys here to relieve you as soon as possible."

Bill nodded his understanding as Mike and Lee ran for the door. "I'll be there as soon as I can." But his parting words floated unheard by Mike as he watched the two men run out to the car.

SOSF SOSF SOSF

The unmistakable cold sensation of a barrel of a gun being pressed against his head brought Steve into a state of full alertness despite the pain medication that was flowing through his body and he opened his eyes wide to find himself staring into the grinning insane face of Bradley. He gasped and pulled away but any attempts of an escape were thwarted as Bradley grabbed his hair and pulled him closer. It was only then did the young injured inspector become aware of a second person standing near the door.

"Bradley? What are you doin' man?"

Steve winced, as Bradley's grip in his hair grew tighter as he heard the older man growl, "Jerry get out of here. This is none of your business!"

He saw the gun swing towards the young SFPD officer and reached slowly and carefully up with a trembling hand as Bradley yelled, "I said GET OUT OF HERE!"

"Sure thing man, just be cool."

The small distraction was all he needed as he grabbed for the gun and tried to pull it away. He knew he was no match in his current condition to wrench the gun free from Bradley's hand but he was not about to lie back and risk Bradley using it against an innocent man. Using what little strength that he possessed, Steve pulled the barrel of the gun down and attempted to twist it free from Bradley's hand.

Startled by Keller' foolhardy grab for his gun, Bradley felt the gun slip momentarily from his grasp. A roar of anger erupted from his throat as he tightened his grip on the gun and tried to point it upwards towards Keller' head, "Why you little…."

Ignoring the pain that tore through his body, Steve grabbed the gun with both hands as he struggled desperately to point it down and away from his body but Bradley was just too strong. The room suddenly reverberated with the sound of gunfire and Steve cried out as his leg erupted in fiery pain, his hands releasing the gun as he instinctively grabbed for his leg as tears of pain rolled down his face.

"What the hell?" Bradley screamed as he pulled the gun free and slammed the barrel down striking the side of Steve's head. "You mess up all of my plans!" he screamed again as the gun rose and fell, hitting the injured man over and over again. "You're the reason why everything has gone wrong. You don't deserve to live!"

SOSF SOSF SOSF

Mike and Lee nearly leaped from the elevator as soon as the doors slid open. Several SFPD officers quickly gathered outside Steve's room, ready to help but at the moment unable to do so. Jerry hurried toward the two Homicide officers, beginning his explanation almost before he was within hearing range. "I'm sorry Lieutenant, I never dreamed Bradley would do something like that. He's crazy!"

Mike placed a hand on Jerry's shoulder, "Slow down. What did Bradley do? What's going on?"

Jerry had just begun to explain when everyone jumped as the sounds of a violent struggle and Steve's pain filled cries were heard coming from the room.

"Steve!" Mike lunged toward the closed ICU room door, angrily yanking away from Lee's grip as Lee tried to stop him.

Steve cried out in agony as he tried to roll away but the pull of the chest tubes and IVs kept him trapped on the bed as the fierce beating continued. He was vaguely aware as the door to his room crashed open and Bradley grabbed him half off the bed. Unable to stop the cry of agony that escaped as the violent movement tore the plastic tube from his chest, Steve struggled weakly as Bradley pulled the injured inspector close, using Steve as a human shield as he turned towards the door.

Pulling out his gun and bursting through the door Mike, like Jerry before him, was stopped in his tracks as he found himself facing Bradley who was armed with a 4" .38 blue steel revolver and holding a bleeding Steve in front of him, his gun pressed hard against Steve's head, his finger on the trigger.

"Take a look, Stone." Bradley shouted triumphantly, holding the gasping, bleeding man as he shielded himself behind him. "Take a look at your Golden Boy." He suddenly began shaking Steve violently, unable to control the rage, "This is all your fault!"

"Stop it!" Mike ordered, taking a cautious step forward, "You're going to kill him!"

"That's the idea, Lieutenant.' Bradley sneered coldly at the lead inspector, "You let this little brat here sweet talk you into taking my job and now he's going to pay for it."

Mike was horrified. Steve was barely conscious, struggling to breathe, blood saturating the white sheet that was now tangled around his legs. Mike kept his eyes on the deranged man holding his best friend as he nodded and softly agreed. "Maybe you're right, Bradley. Maybe taking on an inexperienced kid like him was a mistake."

Laughing hysterically, Bradley shook his head, "Ya think it was a mistake, Mike? It was more than a mistake! The whole reputation of Homicide suffered for it. Look at how badly he messed up and got himself shot. But if that wasn't bad enough, the little brat lied and accused a good officer like me of not responding. He couldn't take the heat of his own stuff-up, so he tried to use me as his scapegoat!" Looking down at the semiconscious man in his arm, Bradley shook Steve violently and pressed the gun harder against his victim's skull as he growled, "Didn't cha, college boy?"

It was all Mike could do not to rush the gun wielding former officer, and he dug his nails into his palm in frustration. Diplomacy was the only way he was going to be able to save his friend. He held his breath as he saw Steve move.

Lifting his head, the young inspector looked blearily up at his captor, "I didn't lie! You ignored my call!"

"You lied!" Bradley screamed, shaking Steve roughly, as he demanded, "Tell him you lied!"

Mike cringed as Bradley shook Steve again, "Stop it, Bradley! You want to talk, you talk to me! He's hurt and he doesn't know what he is saying. The doctors have told me the pain medication he's on makes him imagine things that didn't happen..."

Bradley stopped and stared at Mike, "You see. He did lie! I told you so! He lied about everything. He even had you fooled! But he never fooled me." Shaking Steve violently again, he screamed. "Didn't you, College Boy?" Using the gun, Bradley pointed towards the blood that was now pooling around Steve's leg, "He did that too. It was his fault. He pulled the gun out of my waistband and tried to kill me. He's been out to get me ever since he tricked you into giving him my job!"

"I can see that now." Mike said quietly as he moved a step closer to the two men, as he slowly re-holstered his gun and held his hands up in the air in an attempt to convince the deranged man that he was no longer a threat. "I'm sorry that I didn't listen to you earlier but I promise I will listen to you now, if you hand me the gun and let Keller go."

"See Mike. I knew you'd understand if someone just explained it to." Mike sucked in a sharp breath as Bradley shook the now unconscious man again in an effort to emphasize his point, "But don't feel bad. This lying little college boy fooled a lot of people."

Mike held out his hand as he took another cautious step forward, "Give me the gun, Bradley, and we can talk." he ordered softly

"It's his fault that Tia got hurt. He wanted her to lie for him as well." Bradley explained as Mike moved closer, "I tried to explain to her that lying to cover for him was wrong but she wouldn't listen." He growled in grief and anger as his finger tightened on the trigger, "But she was scared of him! It's all his fault!"

"I know," Mike said quickly, afraid that Steve was running out of time, "I didn't know it then but I know it now. Come on Bradley, it's not too late. Give me the gun and let's talk."

Bradley let out a breath before he slowly nodded and held out his gun for Mike to take. Looking down at the man he still held in his arm, he looked back up at Mike and asked, "Do you want me to book him? Murder for Tia's death would be a good start."

Mike nodded his agreement as he took Bradley's gun and slipped it into his coat pocket before he reached for Steve, carefully sliding him back onto the bed. Reaching for Bradley's arm, he helped the mentally ill officer up and led him towards the door and away from his closest friend, "Yeah that sounds like a good start. Just come with me and I'll have one of the other officers take care of the paperwork."

"Thanks Mike. I knew you'd listen to reason." Bradley smiled before he turned and looked up at Mike and eagerly asked, "As for my promotion to Homicide, when do you want me to start?"

SOSF SOSF SOSF

The first rays of dawn peeked through the small window as Mike rose from his chair and began to pace the room. Steve had not yet awoken after surgery to remove the bullet from his thigh and to reinsert the chest tube that was so violently pulled out during the hostage siege yesterday afternoon.

Unable to stop the shiver that shook his body as he remembered the horrifying sight of his critically injured young friend being held with a gun to his head, Mike turned and stared out of the window. Bradley had been a bully, lying and intimidating his way through every situation, even blaming his victims for his own insane actions. Shaking his head in disbelief Mike recalled the insane officer's claims that Steve had robbed him of his rightful position on Homicide. Even if he had not selected Steve, Bradley never stood a chance of being part of the Homicide team.

A painful soft cough followed by a moan from the bed caught his attention and he turned and hurried to the side of the bed, smiling as Steve's eyes slowly flickered open. Gently placing his hand on the top of the patient's head, "Hey welcome back, Sleepy head."

Steve blinked as the familiar figure that leaned above him slowly came into focus. Licking dry lips, he weakly whispered, "Hi Mike." Shifting slightly, he gasped at the pain that seemed to be attacking him from everywhere.

"The doctor said that you are going to be fine." Mike began quietly, his hand sliding down to gently squeeze Steve's shoulder in sympathy as he spoke, "You are going to be sore for a couple of days, your lung was re-torn when the chest tube was pulled out and the bullet caused some muscle damage in your leg but Doc says with some rest and physio you are good for a full recovery."

"Bullet?" Steve whispered, confused as vague, disjointed images floated through his battered brain.

"You were shot in the leg." Mike explained, worried with the apparent memory loss of what had happened only hours before. "Bradley managed to get into your room, he took you hostage."

"He wanted…me to lie!" Steve whispered as small snatches of the memory solidified.

Mike could feel his throat tightening as he took in the new bandages and injuries that now marred his best friend, and how helpless he has been to prevent them. "But you wouldn't. You really put up a fight, Buddy boy, even when he was hurting you, you refused to give in to his bullying."

"What happened with… Bradley?" Steve asked breathlessly, grimacing as his bruised face hurt with the effort of talking.

"He's in custody, Steve. He won't bother you anymore." Mike answered truthfully.

The young inspector shook his head, "He's sick, Mike, he didn't know what he… was doing... I hope he can get… the help he needs. He's not responsible…for his actions."

Mike shook his head amazed at the concern and compassion that this young man had for the man who hated him so much that he had deliberately ignored his call for assistance and then tried to kill him all because of an insane idea that Steve had robbed him of his promotion. Squeezing Steve's arm, Mike whispered, "We'll talk about Bradley's actions later, now all I want you to be concerned with is resting and getting stronger."

Steve nodded as he allowed his eyes to drift closed, "Promise me Mike… that you will go home… and get…some sleep…as well…" he murmured, "I know…these hospital…chairs are…killers to sleep…in."

Mike stroked the back of his fingers against the pale cheek as he smiled. "I promise, Buddy boy." he whispered fondly down at the sleeping man in the bed, "I will go home tomorrow to sleep in my own bed, maybe."


	11. Chapter 11

**_ Epilogue _ **

Bradley had on his best brown suit and stood beside his lawyer as he contritely faced the judge as he pleaded no contest to the charges of battery and manslaughter, agreeing to accept whatever verdict the judge determined as appropriate as he listened to his lawyer speak on his behalf.

"So you see my client is not a malicious person and is not a threat to society. He's a good man who has selflessly protected and served his community for thirty years." the lawyer paused to emphasize his point as he continued in an almost conspiratorial voice, "The stress just got to be too much for him and he focused that anger on one person." He looked down at the personnel folder in front of him. "He retired the other day so he isn't even a cop any more. Let's not let one moment of indiscretion erase a lifetime of work. Would you be willing to accept that my client was under a great deal of stress and suffered from a complete psychotic break when these crimes occurred? Now my client has been stabilized on medication, he deeply regrets his actions. I beg the court to allow him do his time in an appropriate medical facility where he can get the psychiatric help that he so desperately requires."

The judge nodded solemnly before he turned to the defendant standing in the dock. "Mr. Bradley, the court accepts your plea of no contest to the charges filed against you. Taking your career as a law enforcement officer into consideration, I'm sentencing you to a State Psychiatric Hospital for a period of confinement to be determined by two State Psychiatrists."

Bradley had been looking at the floor as the judge spoke, but now looked up and met his eyes, "Thank you, Sir."

At a look from the judge, the bailiff stepped forward and took Bradley by the arm, leading him toward a side door. He would begin serving his sentence immediately. He turned and smiled at the young inspector watching him closely from the gallery. "Bye College Boy, I'll see you in a short while!' he giggled as he was led away.


End file.
